Unit 4: The Power of Language

3.3 Visual Pathways

The 2016 study PrOVIDe: Prevalence of Visual Impairment in Dementia examined the link between Dementia and visual impairment.

Step A

Read the background and the objectives of the study and note down its key findings. Compare your answer to our model answer.

Step B

In the second step of this activity you will consider the implications of dementia-related visual difficulties on learning activities.

As you discovered in step A, people with dementia can have visual difficulties caused by the brain although they still have healthy eyes. They may experience problems recognizing what they see rather than how sharply they see it. Types of Dementia that may have a direct impact on vision are: Lewy Body, Posterior Cortical Atrophy, Alzheimer’s and Vascular Dementia.

Take another look at Carolus Horn’s paintings (see slides 36 to 46) you have come across in Unit 2. Picture A was painted at a time when the artist was in full health. Here, the bridge can be seen in detail and is three-dimensional. As his illness progressed, the spatial awareness as represented in the pictures reduces more and more until the artist’s style in picture D becomes two-dimensional, ornamental and colourful. 

Now consider what implications these visual difficulties can have on learning activities with adults with dementia. What might these adults not be able to do/see? Note down your conclusions and compare them with our model answer.