The Akron-Summit County Public Library (Ohio, USA) now has Memory Kits to purchase. The Kits, developed with Jennifer Brush of Brush Development (along Montessori For Dementia and Aging principles and practices) and with funding support from the Ohio Council for Cognitive Health, provide experiences that:
- Speak to the personhood of each individual living with dementia - what are their unique talents and preferences, what has given them purpose throughout their lives, what do they count among their best memories/most impactful contributions, what enriches their lives?
- Encourage conversation about the activities and about memories that arise while engaging with the activities.
- Support skill maintenance, including hand-eye coordination, balance, and fine motor skills, and can be adjusted as abilities change over time.
- Suggest at-home extension activities to further the Kit experience.
Currently, there are 7 Memory Kits; each Kit can have 2-5 boxes of activities and checks out for two weeks. Each box includes an instruction sheet and the tools needed to complete the activity. They include:
Home Life
- Pouring Activity
- Sock Match and Towel Folding
- Lacing Cards
Office Life
- Organizing Office Supplies
- Information Files
- Correspondence and Brain Games
- Working With Tools
- Locks & Keys
- Nuts & Bolts and Using A Screwdriver
- Tool Match
- Sanding
In The Kitchen
- Recipe Task Cards and Cookbook
- Cooking Tool Match
In The Garden
- A Sidewalk Garden and Flowers & Plants
- Flower & Leaf Sorting
- Planting Seeds
Sensory Exploration
- Fabric Matching and Mystery Bag
- Sound Matching and Liquid Bubbler
- Movement
- Sounds of Nature
- Tangrams
In The Night Sky
- Viewing Constellations
- Lacing Cards
Holds can be placed online or by calling one of their locations. Pickup can be through Main Library’s Drive-Thru Window or at branch locations (inside or outside pick-up). More information about the Library’s Dementia-Inclusive Initiative is available here: https://www.akronlibrary.org/about/accessibility/dementia-inclusive