those who care for them.
In 2010, American research psychologist Dr George Huba was diagnosed with
an untreatable, early-onset neurodegenerative disease and dementia. He was told
that he had little time left. A year later, he retired from his job as an evaluator of
health and social care programmes. However, he had no intention of resigning
himself to his condition. Instead, he drew on his professional experience to
research visual thinking methods for those with cognitive decline who wish to
minimize its impact on their future.
Dr Huba soon found that Mind Mapping provided an especially effective and
inexpensive way of ordering his daily life and memories, making decisions and
planning for the future. By getting rid of complex sentence structures and the
need to learn by rote, Mind Maps appeal to the mind in the present moment.
Today, George Huba writes an engaging blog about “My Life as an Ongoing
Cognitive and Medical Experiment”, enjoys a large following on Twitter and has
published a short book called
Mind Mapping, Cognitive Impairment, and
Dementia
(
Huba’s Bolero
). He is a pioneer in the use of Mind Maps as a tool to
tackle the effects of cognitive decline.
For those who have dementia, Mind Maps offer a visual thinking tool with
which to record memories, organize daily routines and plan ahead. They can be
used, for instance, for choosing meals and clothing, for remembering
medications, and as Mind Map diaries and schedule planners. They can help
Mind Mappers with dementia remember medical appointments and visitors.
Some people with dementia may be able to express themselves more easily
through pictures, sketches and scribbles than in words, in which instance the
Mind Map can act as a useful communication device to help them relate to the
people they love and the people who care for them.
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