John Jacobs has Alzheimer’s disease, and when he used a Wii for the first time, unbelievably he was almost immediately able to crack a baseball with it. Any new Wii user would be delighted but for someone with what is often termed a disability, it’s remarkable.
Jacobs lives in Silverado Senior Living - San Juan Capistrano with a dozen other residents, where they provide assisted living for Alzheimer’s and other memory-impairing residents. They’ve been using a Wii since March 2008.
“Mr. Jacobs was able to hit the baseball when no one else could, including those of us on the staff,” said Linda Szemenyei, director of resident engagement.
Jacobs has always loved baseball. He played high school baseball, and then at the University of Southern California, and his corporate baseball team. The use of the Wii opens up his favourite sport again to him, as it does arrange of other activities such as golf, tennis or bowling. Some residents have no knowledge of the real sport, and have only played on the Wii, some like John Jacobs are previous experts.
Administrator Carole Shaw brought the Wii to Silverado - San Juan Capistrano – she says:
“I played with it and I had been reading about how senior citizens were enjoying it and using it for exercise… I hadn’t heard of it being played by people with Alzheimer’s Disease, but I didn’t see any reason that our residents wouldn’t be able to use it. Our philosophy at Silverado is to always look at what people with memory impairment can do, rather than what they can’t do, and I thought this would be exciting.”
They had to wait several months to find a Wii, but since March they haven’t looked back, gathering at 1.30 daily for afternoon fun and games! Fortunately, other sports such as boxing are not proving popular.
Shaw said: “What our residents are doing with the Wii is a wonderful example of how much capacity and ability people with memory impairment have. It’s so important for the world to understand this and to help each person with memory disorder live to his or her full potential.”
Obviously, Silverado offers more normal exercise such as time spent with children and animals, gardening, cooking, woodworking, etc, but the Wi is doing well popularity-wise, especially where people are unable to play for real any more.
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