I know that mirrors were a very important part of many people's lives, almost a ritual for grooming. I also know that in cases of severe dementia, residents sometimes don't recognize the person in the mirror and can be frightened. Please help me to advise the designers. Signed, P Dear P, As you may be aware, we too train and act as consultants in the design of facilities for dementia. In fact, next week I will be speaking to an audience of architects and interior designers in Chicago on designing for dementia.
Mirrors are but a single issue among hundreds.
The answer to your question depends on much more information than you provided. As you realize, AD is a progressive disease with seven stages. One day a woman might go into the bathroom, look in the mirror and fix her hair. Many solutions today are based on trial and error. I think the best approach might be to make it possible to hide the mirror, perhaps by installing a pull-down shade that matches the wall and thus camouflaging the mirror.