Puzzles To Remember

PUZZLES TO REMEMBER is a 501(c)3 organization that provides puzzles to nursing homes, veterans facilities, and other facilities that care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients. Dr. Max Wallack founded Puzzles To Remember in 2008, and continues to act as an advisor and mentor. Hailey Richman is the Executive Director of PuzzlesToRemember. Since 2011, Hailey has been distributing puzzles to nursing facilities around the globe. Hailey is also the founder of KidCaregivers.com, where she provides advice for children dealing with dementia in their family members. Hailey has begun an international program called PuzzleTime which involves pairing youth members with people with Alzheimer's for an hour of shared jigsaw puzzle solving. Dr. Max Wallack serves as a mentor to the KidCaregivers program.

If you have puzzles that you would like to donate, please contact us at Puzzles2Remember@gmail.com and we will find a location near you where you can bring your puzzles. We can also provide you with a donation letter so that you can claim the value of your puzzles as a tax deduction.

To see a short video from WCVB Ch. 5 "BOSTON STRONG" about Max's efforts on behalf of Alzheimer's patients, click here.

To see a short video about Hailey's Puzzle Time Program, click here.

Saturday, August 5, 2017

How to Solve a Puzzle With a Dementia Patient

by Hailey Richman
PuzzlesToRemember
KidCaregivers

Hi Everyone! I would like to share my way of solving a puzzle with a dementia patient. There are many ways to solve puzzles. I am sharing a way that works well for us. If you have a special way of solving puzzles with your loved one, please share it! It would be nice to hear about different methods of puzzle-solving!

1. Select a puzzle with the correct amount of puzzle pieces for the loved one. I chose a puzzle with 36 pieces. Grandma has moderate dementia. Therefore, she cannot concentrate on puzzles with many pieces. If your loved one has milder dementia he/she can solve puzzles with 100 pieces. And if your loved one is severely impaired than he/she can solve 12 piece puzzles. Show the loved one the cover of the box. Have a conversation about the picture. See if it brings back memories. This puzzle pictured has a lighthouse.

Grandma and her friend "Phil" really liked the image. I asked them what they think of when they see the picture. Phil said it looks like Maine. Grandma said it reminded her of Newfoundland, Canada.

2. Prop the cover of the box up, so the puzzle-solvers can view the image to help guide them with puzzle-solving.

3. Find the 4 corners for the puzzle.

4. Find all the flat edged pieces for the frame of the puzzle. Put them in the middle.

5. Solve the frame of the puzzle.

6. If the loved one needs assistance (grandma needs a little help) hand them a puzzle piece. Give a hint about where it may belong in the puzzle. I pointed to the image and "hinted" where the piece should go. Grandma placed it correctly after I helped her. She felt great!

7. If the loved one has very mild dementia (like Phil) they can find the place for the puzzle piece without help. You can see if the person needs help or can work alone.

8. If possible, have the person work with someone. Phil and grandma enjoyed socializing while solving the puzzle. It helped "break the ice".

9. Celebrate the completion of the puzzle. In addition to stimulating the brain, improving thinking and mood, it creates a social activity for the loved one. The social factor is very important for people with Alzheimer's disease :-)

(We used Springbok Puzzles - https://www.springbok-puzzles.com/)

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Ceaco Donates Large Number of Puzzles For Dementia Patients and Caregivers

By Max Wallack

Puzzles to Remember

Ceaco has donated a very large number of puzzles to PuzzlesToRemember.

These puzzles, all 42 piece wooden puzzles, will be distributed for dementia patients and their caregivers. Memory cafes in Massachusetts are being contacted to see if they wish to receive these puzzles for their participants.

Here are the images on a few of the puzzles:

Max Wallack graduated from Boston University and worked as a Research Intern in the Molecular Psychiatry and Aging Laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University School of Medicine. He is currently a student at Harvard Medical School. 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

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Books Provided to Edison Home Health, an Organization Working with Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers in New York State

By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

Puzzles To Remember Has Donated Copies of a Book Written to Explain Alzheimer’s Disease to Children to Edison Home Health Care.

The book, “Why Did Grandma Put Her Underwear in the Refrigerator, An Explanation of Alzheimer’s Disease for Children” was written by Max Wallack and Carolyn Given.

Edison Home Health Care is a fully insured, full-service, home care services agency, licensed with the New York City Department of Health. Edison is Joint Commission-accredited —widely recognized as the highest standard in healthcare accreditation. Edison is committed to providing quality care to the elderly and disabled all across New York State — from New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany.

With over 40% of its patients living with some form of Dementia, Edison Home Health Care proudly instructs its caregivers with special Alzheimer’s training with Teepa Snow’s positive approach to Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Edison stands side by side in the fight against Alzheimer’s.

Below are the links to 3 services provided by Edison Home Health:

Home Health Care - https://edisonhhc.com/
Free Medicaid Enrolment - http://www.hpsny.org/
Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Program (CDPAP) - http://cdpapny.org/

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

70,000 Puzzles Distributed to Nursing Facilities, Alzheimer's units, and Assisted Care Facilities

By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

PuzzlesToRemember has now distributed over 70,000 puzzles.

Many young people have helped in this distribution. Most extraordinary, though, has been Hailey Richman's donation of time and efforts to help find the right homes for donated puzzles.

These puzzles have gone to Alzheimer's Units, Assisted Living Facilities, Nursing Homes, Memory Cafes, and other similar organizations.

Many seniors will be able to spend their time engaged in helpful, calming activities.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Delivering Puzzles Over School Break

By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

A Big Thank You to Ethan and Lily of Sudbury MA for spending so much of their winter school vacation delivering puzzles to over a dozen nursing facilities.

Over 500 seniors will have access to puzzles to keep them happily occupied during snowy days.

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Ceaco Puzzles Donates 137 Puzzles

By Max Wallack

Puzzles to Remember

I want to thank Ceaco Puzzles in Newton MA for its recent donation of 137 puzzles to PuzzlesToRemember.

Ceaco has donated many, many puzzles over the past eight years. Many of these puzzles are 300 large-sized piece puzzles that are donated to Assisted Living Facilities.

These puzzles provide many hours of quiet, peaceful, brain stimulating activities for seniors living in these facilities.

Here are just of few of the puzzles Ceaco has donated this week:

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Hailey Richman is named one of 10 Hasbro Community Action Heroes

By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

Our 9 year old Assistant Director, Hailey Richman, has been named one of 10 Hasbro Community Action Heroes.

Over the past year, Hailey has helped PuzzlesToRemember place over 10,000 puzzles. She often takes puzzles into nursing facilities and spends time there interacting with the residents and doing puzzles with them.

She also encourages other young people to participate, involving entire girl scout troops to interact with senior citizens.

Also, Hailey founded Kid Caregivers, a support group for kids who are assisting their families in caring for a loved one with dementia. Hailey advises kids as far away as Russia, Germany and Africa about how to interact with family members who have dementia. She maintains a website, www.kidcaregivers.com, where kids can write to her asking for advice on how to handle the caregiving situations they are in.

Hailey has begun giving presentations at schools, explaining Alzheimer's disease to children. She is always amazed how many kids come up to her afterwards, describing their caregiving roles at home and asking for advice.

Hailey is also the youngest Purple Angel Ambassador. She is also busily at work constructing an invention that will, helpfully, prevent many falls among the elderly with dementia.

Hailey has appeared on 2 radio shows: Lori La Bay’s show: Alzheimer’s Speaks, and Dreamvisions 7 Radio Network. She discussed the impact of children helping to care for a loved one with Alzheimer’ disease.

What does Hailey do in her spare time? She is a member of a children's choir in New York and she collects new pajamas to provide to children in shelters.

Hailey will be honored at a national toy fair this winter. I am very glad she is receiving this well-deserved and prestigious award!