According to the Dallas and Northeast Texas Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 400,000 Texans live with Alzheimer’s disease, and more than 1 million families and friends provide care for those suffering from the disease.
Due to the compassion of one Dallas ISD senior, a new phone app can entertain and keep Alzheimer’s and dementia patients engaged.
The AlzBuddy app was developed by Vedant Tapiavala, a senior at Dallas ISD’s School for the Talented and Gifted, and three of his friends.
According to the Dallas ISD, Tapiavala’s reason for helping build the app stem from his lifelong interest in medicine, specifically neurosurgery.
“I have always been interested in exploring the unknown, and I also want to help people similar to those we are currently helping with AlzBuddy,” he said.
AlzBuddy is an interactive memory care assistant to engage senior citizens, especially those living with early-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia. The app’s design emphasizes convenience, utility, and interactivity. The app contains three core modules – sounds, games, and pictures.
The Sound Module contains more than 200 songs, commercials, speeches, animal sounds, and more. The purpose is to stimulate great memories after hearing a familiar sound.
The Game Module includes a color grid requiring the user to follow instructions to color a specific button in a grid of buttons that the user toggles. The goal is to emphasize coordination by focusing skills to reinforce figures, objects, and historical events.
The Pictures Module includes more than 100 pictures with descriptions including famous world leaders from 1950-1990, common animals, household objects, and more. Users are urged to remember and reminisce about pivotal figures and items from their past.
Since its release on July 6, it has been downloaded in 12 countries. The app is a free download on Apple, Google Play, and Amazon app stores.