ALPHARETTA -- Craig Simon's mother was diagnosed with dementia nearly 10 years ago.

"It is a very painful process to watch this happening," Simon said.

Her moods change day to day, from sadness to anger to fear.

"It wraps her up and it just shuts her down," he said.

Oftentimes, Simon and his wife, Katherine, have trouble getting through to his mother.

"The frustration is not knowing how to properly communicate," said Simon.

That's where P.K. Beville comes in. She's worked with the elderly for more than 25 years. She says Simon won't be able to effectively communicate until he understands what his mother is going through.

"We try very hard to do a good job of caring for them, but in fact, no one's ever studied what it might feel like to be like them," Beville said.

In order to give caregivers perspective, Beville created the Virtual Dementia Tour.

The tour begins with a few props; gloves filled with popcorn and fingers taped together to simulate painful arthritis, goggles to create the effect of macular degeneration and headphones filled with incessant background noise.

CBS Atlanta's Stephany Fisher was first to go through the tour. She was given eight minutes to perform five simple tasks -- the first, to find a white sweater and put it on.

Fisher headed straight for the bedroom in search of the sweater, but was quickly distracted by a pile of clothing on the bed.

She sorted through finding towels, which she then folded -- another task on her list.

Then she headed to the closet, found a sweater and put it on. "I think that's white," she said.

Meanwhile next door, Mr. Simon had gotten off to a rough start.

"I didn't hear any of the instructions," he said.

Once he entered the room, he milled around aimlessly and even asked, "Can somebody help me?" But, the instructors aren't allowed to communicate with the individuals or provide any reinforcement. With nothing left to do, Simon resigned to his frustrations and sat down on the living room couch.

Back in Fisher's room, she couldn't seem to remember her final task, but her time was up.

Fisher made her first observation after taking off the dementia gear. "Well, I couldn't see. That was really the thing that was the hardest for me."

"Well, the reason for that is because our elders need three times more light to see," countered Beville.

Down the hall, Simon continued to fumble around in the dark. And to make matters worse, his wife walked in seeming to know exactly what to do.

Soon after, he ran out of time without having performed a single task.

"So, tell me what you think," Beville said.

He responded, "I'm at a complete loss because I heard no instructions."

Beville explained that dementia patients can be easily distracted. Hearing loss compounds the problem, making it difficult for them to follow directions.

"They don't understand what's being said to them. They can't even understand what to pay attention to," Beville said.

It was a grueling process, but Simon seemed to have gotten the message.

"The amount of difficulty in all senses, it's painful. So perhaps, some empathy there." He added, "Perhaps the fact that, for me, I needed more instruction. Perhaps more patience in trying to work through the process and communication with my mother."

Simon is not alone. An estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia.

Seven out of 10 Alzheimer's patients live at home where family and friends provide 75 percent of the care, yet studies show that these caregivers are not formally trained to provide the support needed for those living with dementia.

Families, nursing homes and medical schools can purchase the Virtual Dementia Tour by clicking here.