The game that helps you to connect with people who have Alzheimer’s
POETIC MEMORY is based on the well-known Memory game and supported by the Alzheimer Catalunya Foundation. It provides cognitive stimulation for people living with Alzheimer’s through creativity and metaphors. It also reinforces emotional bonds between family members, caregivers and people living with the disease.
Occupational therapy
According to Manuela Yerbes, an occupational therapist who works with people living with Alzheimer’s and has followed the game’s development: This visual game is not just associated with images. It plays with concepts, symbols, and colors. You can also find alternative ways to play, for example, looking for colors or different parts of the body. The game can be played in a group or individually to reinforce speaking, classifying into categories, eliciting memories, or expressing feelings.
The images are clear, simple, and conceived for adults. The cards allow players to talk without worrying about making mistakes, because the images are subject to multiple interpretations.
How to play
More than a game, a dialogue with the imagination
The game of Memory consists of placing the cards face down and flipping them over, two at a time, to find pairs. Whoever gets most pairs wins.
In POETIC MEMORY, there are two identical shapes in the same color, but the second one becomes something else.
Depending on the degree of Alzheimer, you can use a selection of the cards instead of the entire deck. Another possibility is to place the cards face up and play with the images. You can also find alternative ways to play, for example, looking for colors or different parts of the body. The game can be played in a group or individually to reinforce speaking, classifying into categories, eliciting memories, or expressing feelings.
Who
The game was created and developed by Arianne Faber, who came up with the idea when she was working on her Master’s degree. She had just lost her mother-in-law to Alzheimer’s and knew all too well how hard it can be to live with this illness. She decided to contribute her small part by creating a game that would foster connectedness and cognitive stimulation for people living with Alzheimer’s.
News
08/10/2021 Castellbisbal has seen its potential and ordered an edition of 600 games exclusively for its elderly inhabitants.
11/05/2021 Very happy that Natura has adopted the game in various stores in Barcelona.
05/02/2020
Planetree, guiding healthcare organization toward person-centered care, has incorporated POETIC MEMORY in their portfolio in the Netherlands.
08/10/2019
I was invited by Games for Health on their 9th annual congress about Playful Intelligence in Eindhoven. Promoting POETIC MEMORY and handing over a game to the Dutch Secretary of Health Erik Gerritsen.
21/09/2019
TV spot on World Alzheimer’s Day by the Alzheimer Catalunya Foundation, who are supporting POETIC MEMORY.