Making Memories Together: A Game for Persons with Memory Impairment and Their Families

Description

Making Memories Together is an award-winning noncompetitive board game designed for persons with major memory disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Families are instructed on how to create individualized Memory Cards that help tap into pockets of preserved memories for the memory-impaired individual, thereby improving the quality of visits. The game cannot reverse the progression of Alzheimer's disease, but it does enhance the quality of life for the affected individual by making visits by family and friends more comfortable and enjoyable. Families enjoy involving members of all age groups in the fun and creative intergenerational process of making the Memory Cards. The Memory Cards, with their personal pictures and storeis about the person with memory problems, attract volunteers and enable staff to know the patient as a person. In the end, families find they have created a rich biography of their loved one in the form of a game -- a highly valued treasure they will always have.