The Schneckenhaus

The Parkinson-Selbsthilfe Schneckenhaus e.V is a house in Florstadt-Staden near Frankfurt. Schneckenhaus, operating under the motto “Come out of your Shell” has three major objectives

Providing tailor-made accommodation for Parkinson patients

Located in the middle of a village, embedded in the community, the house has been especially con-verted to meet the needs of patients and has 5 self-contained apartments with lift plus community meeting rooms

Information centre for patients

The centre provides a focus for patients seeking information on many (non-medical) aspects of coping with Parkinson's. This is very wide ranging and includes advice and encouragement for the newly diagnosed coming to terms with a shock situation, providing information on suitable doctors and clinics, informing patients about social insurance issues, work regulations etc. Regular meetings are organised and seminars are held on subjects of interest to patients. This provides a forum where patients can exchange information on drug regimes, experiences and come to be part of a wider community- breaking the barriers of isolation.

Public Understanding of Parkinson's Disease

By organising events, awarding research prizes, meetings with politicians, press campaigns and the like, the centre promotes public understanding and fosters awareness of patient needs. This helps to create better framework conditions for patients still in a work environment

The Parkservice Demonstration

The presentation was provided by Uberto Delprato of ParkAid, Alfio Finocchiaro representing IES and Dr Reynold Greenlaw and James Greig of OCC. They demonstrated the INDIGO mobility aid and the ParkLine home communication system. Attendees were canvassed for their opinions on the usefullness and appropriateness of these two systems.

We have a video of INDIGO in use at the Schneckenhaus, as well as some photos:

Dietmar Wessel's introducing ParkService

Reynold Greenlaw's presentation on the project.