Careplay FAQ
CarePlay is not just a game; it’s a transformative experience that elevates your dementia skills by teaching you new ones or helping you practice ones you already know.
CarePlay unfolds in the fictitious setting of Deva Gardens, a residential care home. Here, you’ll encounter five memory care residents, each with their own unique backgrounds, preferences, and needs. Their stories will captivate you and keep you engaged in the game. As well as getting to know them, you’ll learn the particular ways dementia affects them. Your job is to use that knowledge and help them with any difficulties they might be having.
Supporting your Deva Gardens residents won’t always be easy, just like in the real world of caregiving. When in trouble, look for ‘Birdie’. He’s your guide and helper. Tap on Birdie for advice. Be warned, Birdie likes to give advice anyway!
We hope you enjoy playing and that you will gain a greater understanding of dementia and its impact on the person in your care.
- Set up your iPad (via Settings) with the WiFi internet access you will be using.
- You must stay connected to the internet to play the game.
- A Mentia user account is required to access CarePlay.
- You administrator will send an invitation email, so that you can create your own password.
- Should you forget your password, you can reset it by clicking on Lost or Forgot password link at login. An email will be sent to you to create a new one.
- As you enter the game, you’ll encounter a list of scenarios, each one centered around a memory care resident. All the scenarios are based on actual situations.
- Your five Deva Gardens residents, as in real life, require your patience and understanding to navigate their day. Your job is to find ways to assist them. Explore all the possibilities within each scenario to build a deeper connection. Once achieved, you’ll move on to the next scenario.
- Scenarios are either in progress, completed, or locked. Once you complete a scenario, the next one unlocks. The scenarios get increasingly complex as you progress through the game.
- Each scenario has “clickable” areas, identified by a blue action button. Tap the blue button to bring up a list of options, which you will see in the activity log on the right-hand side of the screen. Clicking these blue boxes will reveal one or several choices to make. Tap on them to select.
- When the scenario opens, look around the room and observe patiently. Then, decide which of the blue action buttons to press to start.
- Hint: When you first meet a resident, you should carefully review each character’s life story and scenario situation. Just like real-life dementia care, the more you know about your resident the better choices you make.
- As you progress through each scenario, your resident’s mood may improve or decline, based on your choices.
- Remember, success may not come on your first attempt. The game encourages you to listen patiently and carefully consider your approach with each resident. As you gain new and better knowledge and learn effective ways to interact, you’ll be rewarded with a happy and cooperative resident. The scenario ends when a gold star appears on the screen.
- If you need to step away from the game, just close the iPad’s cover. When you open the iPad again, you will be right where you left off. If not, you may need to sign in again and restart the scenario. Completing the game requires succeeding in an increasingly complex sequence of care scenarios.
- Your job is to complete all the scenarios in the CarePlay game. Finishing one scenario unlocks the next one.
- Each scenario is an exploration of how to communicate with the memory care residents in the game. All the scenarios are based on actual scenarios in dementia care.
- The game is interactive, requiring you to make choices about what to say or offer to the character. You can do this by clicking on the blue buttons, which bring up a list of options to explore.
- The resident will react in a way consistent with their condition and life story.
- The choices available to you will change based on your actions – for example, when you build trust or diminish it.For example, rapid questions could make your residents feel more anxious, just as they might in the real world.
- Don’t expect to complete scenarios on the first try.
- Successfully completing a scenario requires patient observation, empathy, and knowledge of the resident. Refer to the character’s case notes and listen carefully to Birdie for clues.
- Hint: At any time, click on Birdy to see a record of your interactions.
- Sometimes the best learning comes from making mistakes. If a choice seems inappropriate, make it anyway, and experience the result.
- Even after completion, feel free to play the scenario again, this time choosing all the less appropriate choices. You’ll experience more negative reactions and receive helpful comments from the Birdie.
- Remember, this game is not a test. A “wrong” approach is a learning opportunity. CarePlay is a safe place to practice. Enjoy!
- The first and best resource will be your care team, who are also playing this game.
- In the background, our technology will notify us if you are getting stuck, and you may receive an email or a text where you can describe the challenge and get advice.
- You can also send an email to info@mentia.me and you will get a response within one business day.
