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Puzzles To Remember

PUZZLES TO REMEMBER is a youth led 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias through jigsaw puzzles, cognitive engagement, and social connection. Led by Executive Director Hailey Richman, Puzzles To Remember has distributed more than 236,000 puzzles valued at over $2 million to more than 5,000 memory care communities, nursing homes, veterans facilities, senior centers, and other organizations across all 50 states and 16 countries. Our programs have benefited more than one million people while diverting approximately 148 tons of puzzles from landfills through donation and reuse. Puzzles To Remember also promotes intergenerational connection through Puzzle Time, which brings young people together with individuals living with dementia for shared puzzle solving, conversation, and companionship. Our mission is to provide engaging and purposeful activities that promote connection, participation, and joy while enhancing the quality of life of those affected by dementia. Donate Puzzles If you have puzzles you would like to donate, please contact us at Puzzles2Remember@gmail.com. We will help identify a location where your puzzles can benefit individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Donation acknowledgment letters are available upon request.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Doing Puzzles With Alzheimer's Patients

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By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

In late December, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Compass on the Bay in South Boston and to interact with the residents there.  Compass on the Bay is a memory support assisted living facility. A link to their great facebook site is here.

This facility certainly seems to offer some wonderful opportunities for their residents.  Not only do they have frequent and innovative programming for those with dementia, they also provide specialized services for residents with Mild Cognitive Impairment:

"Residents experiencing the early symptoms of dementia (Mild Cognitive Impairment - mild memory problems, some confusion) benefit from a full array of memory support services, all focused on maintaining and improving brain function for a higher quality of life. Compass on the Bay is the first assisted living community in our area to address the needs of these individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), often described as the stage between forgetfulness associated with normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease."

Both the residents and the staff displayed happy, upbeat attitudes.  I especially enjoyed the opportunity to do some of the Springbok PuzzlesToRemember with the residents.







Max Wallack is a student at Boston University and a Research Intern in the Molecular Psychiatry and Aging Laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at
Boston University School of Medicine.  His great grandmother, Gertrude, suffered from
Alzheimer's disease. Max is the founder of  PUZZLES TO REMEMBER. PTR is a project that provides puzzles to nursing homes and veterans institutions that care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.


 

1 Comment:

Alzheimer's Care said...

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease can be very challenging. As the disease progresses, different areas of the brain are affected. People with mid to late stage Alzheimer’s may have difficulty expressing their needs in words, may be less able to reason and may be unaware of what is socially appropriate.

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PUZZLES TO REMEMBER was founded in 2008 by Max Wallack, in memory of his great-grandmother, Gertrude Finkelstein, who died of Alzheimer's disease in 2007.
Puzzles To Remember is registered in Massachusetts as a public charity. Contributions are welcome, and are tax deductible under sec. 501(c.)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

For more information, write to us at Puzzles2Remember@gmail.com