I've been kinda wondering about this whole 1950's themed village.

is it themed as 1950's because it was just a simpler time or is it a time the current crop of dementia patients remember best ?

and if thats the case will there be in the offing a :
1960 - hippy commune village?
1970 - disco , studio 54, themed village?
1980 - punk themed village?

Midnight in Paris comes to mind....

She HAS told enough about her childhood in the CSSR on enough occasions on here ! She lived in one of those countries "given" by FDR and Winston Churchill to Stalin at the end of WWII.

But the 1950ies were NOT a simpler time but a far more complicated time ................ so that I fail to see your point

example...
1950's toaster ... insert bread, push lever, wait
todays toaster.... select type of bread, program length of time, determine proper slot for inserting one slice of bread or bagel or danish, insert bread bagel danish, determine proper button for lowering bread, bagel or danish into the fires of hell

NEXT?

But remember how cumbersome it was sending emails back in the days of The Clacks? Especially when the semaphore men went on strike. And the porn was all so pixelled. Yuk.

So they plan to build a village where everyone thinks it is the 1950s. Will this include social attitudes? I don't it will need so much imagination!

Cheers,
Nick

There is a French film currently doing the rounds about a few couples who discuss the possibilities for their old age, and the terror of having to go into an Old People's home. Eventually they hit upon a 'great' idea- why not all move in together into a big house and take on staff, a cook, a cleaner, gardener, nurse - and then we can control our own destiny. Of course, this leads to many arguments about what's what in practice. But I like the idea. No OAP home for me I can tell you. We have a big old house in t'mountains with a big room at the back for communal use - and ye, perhaps this could be the way one day- especially as we have excellent public transport- although a minibus would be a necessary purchase. Especially as we would be surrounded by young families in the village, and not in a OAP ghetto, which I would hate. We could organise courses, tai-chi, gym, art, languages, etc, lol. And then we could all join EXIT and see each other out as needed.

Social attitudes in the 50s! I had a ball I can tell you. My mum always worked btw and never cared a hoot for the village gossip.

Taking a rather more serious look at caring for people suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia...

My father is somewhere in the early to middle-ish stages of Alzheimer's, my mother-in-law is struggling with an as-yet not concretely diagnosed form of age-related cognitive difficulties.

Perhaps we are not yet far enough along on this road, but in their cases I could not see a 'Dementiaville' setting as being all that helpful. Yes, both are very happy speaking of the past, and memories of those days are stronger than memories of recent events. But the delight in the past is directly related to their own stories, not to their environment. But both very much want to hold on to a part of todays' world; the reason we have decided that care in their own homes is preferable to assisted living is that they each take a great deal of comfort from the structure of their known 'today' environment. There is a difference between memory and functional environment.

Transporting them back in time - at least given what I see day to day - would likely cut the ties that anchor and comfort them. For a 'Dementiaville' concept to work I would think the environment would likely need to be tailored to an individual's specific memories, otherwise it would be as unfamiliar as any other new living arrangement. (I doubt recreating a troopship in the Pacific - my father's war stories loom largest in his memory - would be a practical undertaking. )

My father very much enjoys talking about the significant events of his past, and yes these take on an increasing importance to him - but although much is hazy he still aware that he is speaking to me, in 2012. What seems most helpful with my father and with MIL is that the people in their lives today understand the importance of their stories, and are willing to listen, discuss - and value - the events from their past.

Just an observation, based on my limited experience. I don't know if any of this makes any sense, or not...

Absolutely. We have several friends who up-rooted their parents to come and live close to them or with them even - when they realised they couldn't cope anymore on their own. In each case it was a disaster, for exactly the reasons you stated. Taking somebody with onset dementia or Alzheimers away from familiar surroundings and people does not work- as you said, they need familiarity and people who relate to what they want to share.

The 'let's share a house' + staff scenario would only work in the case of older people with all their marbles doing so and sharing the day to day management of the place, perhaps according to strengths, interests or past experience. No good in the case of dementia or Alzheimers.

My heart goes out to you Meloncollie as you live so far away. I tried to do the best for my parents from the UK, and it was very hard- so must be so much harder CH to US, especially as you cannot easily leave your dog behind (we moved here partly for that reason, as I couldn't stand the stress- sadly mum died a couple of weeks before we moved- and dad who was as fit as a fiddle at 96, died a couple of months later of a broken heart).

1950ies/60ies: you type something with the MANUAL typewriter, make a mistake and you had to start again
now: you mis-type, you correct a few letters and REprint.... done

1950ies/60ies: you wanted to look up something. you had to go through heaps of papers or books, and possibly even purchase some books
now: you go into google, print the word, and hey presto, the result there

1950ies/60ies : you up to class 3 had to write with those pen holders, later on with fountain pens, and had to have the ink with you
now: no longer .....

1950ies/60ies : photocopies either were not possible or did cost a fortune. For photocopying you had to go into a special shop (available from the late 60ies) and get your copies. You normally had to work with carbon paper to have "copies" of letters etc
now: you "order" 5 prints out of the printer

1950ies/60ies : in most shops no self service, and in buses and trams you first had to get a ticket from the conductor
now: self-service .... tickets from machines

1950ies/60ies: visiting the airport ? take the tram, and then either the 68-bus or the railways to Balsberg. total travelling time some 90 mins
now : trams+S-Bahn = less than 60 mins

1950ies : somebody travelling by train from Meilen to Baden ? first the train to Tiefenbrunnen or Stadelhofen, then change onto the tram with a second ticket, and then take your train at HB with a third ticket
now: you taken the S-Bahn to HB and another train to Baden, all with just one ticket

1950ies/60ies: going to the Ticino by car ? no tunnel. Drive up and up across the San Gottardo and down the endlesss Tremola
now: there is the tunnel, which outside of peak moments offers a swift travel

etc etc etc

Uh? Wouldn't trains from the Gold Coast back then have taken the old Letten tunnel and so entered HB from that side? Hence no need to catch a tram across town. And I'm pretty sure SBB did issue through tickets back then.