"MY KIND OF PEOPLE" BOOKS

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

-Unknown

"Photography is a way of feeling,
of touching, of loving.
What you have caught on film
you have captured forever.
It remembers little things,
long after you have forgotten everything."

-Aaron Siskind

"Words and pictures can work together to communicate
more powerfully than either alone."

-William Albert Allard

There's at least one thing just about all of us who speak to families and care professionals attending to those with dementia seem to agree upon: one very helpful (as well as useful item) is a book of personal photographs. We have an absolutely excellent idea. It's excellent because (1) it never fails to capture interest and (2) it is amazingly simple and inexpensive to create. Perhaps it would be more impressive if we could say MY KIND OF PEOPLE is the result of years of trial and error and painstaking revisions. Actually, its inception was blind luck and worked the first time we tried...and has continued to be a charmer each time a new book is completed.

When a very young relative, Bailey, was in the hospital for an extended time (at age one), we sent an 8x10 photo print of each member of our immediate family for her mother to put on the wall of Bailey's hospital room. We thought it would be reassuring if Bailey were surrounded by "her people" and not just the care professionals.

Her mother, Jill, put the pictures on the wall of the room at just the height Bailey could see them when she was being held in her mother's arms. As she walked around the room, Jill introduced Bailey to each person and talked about her family. It turned out to be a great, repeatable activity for with Bailey what with all the long hours of waiting so prevalent in a hospital setting.

After being released from the hospital, Jill put all the pictures in a three ring binder using top loading sheet protectors. Bailey loved her book, and Jill kept it on an end table for her to look at any time she felt inclined. Bailey could open the book and see an almost life size pictures of her people...bringing them closer into her world.

Every day Bailey would head straight for the book, go through the pictures and kiss each person on the lips. At night, Jill used a Wet Wipe to disinfect the surface of the sheet protectors!

In our culture, where so many families live long distances from one another and don't see each other on a regular basis, this book helps faces stay familiar. After Bailey was well on her way to recovery, a trip was arranged for her great-grandmother to visit her at home. Eagerly anticipating this meeting, Jill slipped Great-Grandma's picture out of the ring binder and let Bailey study it on the way to the airport.

Jill chatted with Bailey during the thirty minute drive about who was coming to visit and how very special and wonderful Great-Granny was to our family. When Bailey spotted her Grandma in the airport, she ran like a bullet into her arms, and they bonded immediately...as old friends might.

In the world of dementia the book serves slightly different and even more powerful purposes:

Familiar faces are a source of comfort. When names of special people are slipping away as well as a sense of "who's who," pictures of close family members are reassuring. Many people with dementia lose the names of those closest to them but they often retain the sense that these people are mine...
"I belong to them, they belong to me."

The book helps folks with dementia identify with others, feel included in a clan, and stay in touch with one's life story.  It refreshes memory. When memory first starts to fade, the repetition of seeing faces and hearing stories about special people often acts as a trigger/flash.

Vintage photos of family and early childhood places are especially captivating. It helps a person with dementia stay in touch with "My Kind of People" and "My Kind of Places" from the past.

My Kind of People is a great "read-aloud" book reinforcing important facts about each family member's life. Browsing through it not only fills in memory gaps but also gaps of time (a great fifteen minute activity that can be done in "alone time" or "one-on-one").

The possibilities for interactive reading are almost limitless. The book can be read by most age levels of family members, by friends and staff. And, it's a magical bonding activity as a great-grandchild reads aloud to Great-Grandma...long after Great-Grandma can no longer do the reading.

It is also an excellent vehicle to teach others (staff, visitors, and other residents' families) "who's who" in the life of a person with dementia.

Finally, the cover of the book is an activity in and of itself -- for feeling textures and seeing interesting design and beautiful color. We often "bind" the book in old and familiar fabrics from the past like velvet, chenille and quilt top looking mosaics. Sometimes loved ones just sit and gently run their fingers over the fabrics.

Sound like a winner? Wait until you hear the best part. It's easy.

Using a simple three ring binder and sheet protectors makes it easy to add pictures, easy to update and easy to clean. Perhaps the best feature is that is can be used over and over.

When making a book, you have two options: you do it or we do it for you.

Call us, and we will give you details.