Puzzles For Alzheimer's Patients in Portugal

By Max Wallack

Puzzles to Remember

 I am very pleased to learn that Alzheimer's Portugal will begin collecting puzzles for the use of Alzheimer's patients.  I am honored that they are modeling their program after PuzzlesToRemember.  Here is the information that appears on the Alzheimer Portugal website:

Puzzles para Alzheimer é um projecto desenvolvido a pensar nas pessoas com Doença de Alzheimer. Puzzles for Alzheimer's is a project to think of people with Alzheimer's disease.

Esta iniciativa pretende divulgar o factor benéfico de construir puzzles para os doentes de Alzheimer. This initiative aims to promote the beneficial factor of constructing puzzles for Alzheimer's patients. Para além de permitir aos doentes distraírem-se, a construção de puzzles é, também, um excelente exercício de estimulação intelectual. In addition to enabling patients to distract themselves, building puzzles, too, is an excellent exercise in intellectual stimulation.

“Puzzles para Alzheimer” nasceu tendo como inspiração a Campanha “Puzzles to Remember” , uma ideia de Max Wallack. "Puzzles for Alzheimer's" was born taking as inspiration the Campaign "Puzzles to Remember" , an idea of Max Wallack.
O objectivo é conseguir levar até aos doentes de Alzheimer vários puzzles sendo que, para isso, o promotor desta iniciativa apela a que os puzzles sejam enviados para a Associação Alzheimer Portugal. The goal is to lead to Alzheimer's patients and several puzzles that, to this, the promoter of this initiative calls for the puzzles are sent to the Alzheimer's Association Portugal.

Cada pessoa interessada pode enviar os puzzles para as moradas abaixo indicadas, para um lar da terceira idade ou simplesmente oferecer a alguém que sofra desta doença. Each person interested can send puzzles to the addresses below, to a home for the elderly or simply offer to someone who suffers from this disease.

Max Wallack is a student at Boston University Academy. 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.

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Brain Fitness Tips from the Hartford Company

By Max Wallack

Puzzles to Remember

 

The top 14 Ways that the Hartford Company recommends to improve the long term health benefits to your brain are:

1.Eat chocolate

2. Eat fish

3. Exercise your peripheral vision

4.Play ball

5. Exercise

6. Rest up

7. Turn down the volume

8. Do a jigsaw puzzle

9. Make your hobbies harder

10. Walk on a rocky road

11. Visit a museum

12. Learn to play guitar

13. Use your other hand

14. Memorize a song

The complete article can be found here.

Max Wallack is a student at Boston University Academy.  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.

 

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Alzheimer's Patients Will Be Supplied With 12 Additional Boxes of Puzzles

By Max Wallack

Puzzles to Remember

I am happy to report that today 12 additional large boxes filled with puzzles were packed to be shipped for the use of Alzheimer’s patients.  About 5 of these are being sent to Adult Day Care Centers.  Six boxes are being sent to long term care facilities that care for Alzheimer’s patients.

With the remaining box I am trying something new.  The box is being sent to an individual Alzheimer’s patient.  The patient’s daughter contacted me and told me how much enjoyment her mom receives from doing puzzles.  I agreed to send her puzzles as long as, when her mom is finished with the puzzles, she will pass the puzzles along to an Alzheimer’s facility that I identify in her area.  I am delighted that these puzzles will actually be doing double duty!

Max Wallack is a student at Boston University Academy.  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.

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Alzheimer’s Patients Will Benefit From the Generosity and Social-Consciousness of Springbok Puzzles

For PTR
By Max Wallack
Puzzles to Remember

I have been collecting puzzles and distributing them for the use of Alzheimer’s patients for almost two years. By now, I have supplied almost 5000 puzzles to almost 350 facilities. I often hear back about how greatly the residents are enjoying working on the puzzles. Sometimes, when I have enough information, I try to match the puzzles I have to the needs of the patients. Examples of this might be sending a puzzle with the image of a baby to a patient that has recently become a grandparent or great-grandparent, or providing images of flowers blooming to an individual who had been an avid gardener.

By the frequent feedback I receive, I know the puzzles are making a difference. However, all along I have realized that most of the puzzles I provide, while still quite worthwhile, have serious limitations in their benefits to many Alzheimer’s patients. Many of the puzzles that have been donated have high puzzle piece counts, making them useful mostly to patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Early Alzheimer’s Disease. It is rare to find a puzzle with a non-childish image that has a low puzzle piece count and pieces large enough to be easily manipulated, which is what is needed in order to be beneficial to Middle and Later Stage Alzheimer’s patients. I receive requests for this type of puzzle all the time.

Over the past few years, I have given a lot of thought to how I might overcome this dearth of puzzles for those who could most benefit from them. Then, last Spring, I contacted Mr. Steve Pack, President of Springbok Puzzles. Springbok had been one of the first puzzle companies to respond to my request for donations years earlier, so I knew that Springbok was a company that cared about philanthropy. I was overjoyed to hear that Mr. Pack was willing to produce the type of puzzles that would be most beneficial to Alzheimer’s patients.

Working together, PuzzlesToRemember and Springbok Puzzles have been able to make these beneficial puzzles available.

These new puzzles will have a choice of 12 or 36 large pieces. In fact, the overall dimensions of the puzzles will be 18” by 23.5”. Springbok will, initially, be producing 7 different images for their Alzheimer’s puzzles. Several of these are themed for the upcoming December holiday season, potentially bringing the joy of the holidays to individuals who truly need some joy brought into their lives. Springbok, a socially-conscious company, has been producing high quality puzzles since 1964. They use only 100% recycled materials and only vegetable or soy based links.

These Springbok puzzles are scheduled to become available in late October. The response from the Alzheimer’s caregivers’ community has been very positive. People from as far away as New Zealand are awaiting the opportunity to acquire these puzzles. Others are already calling the company, hoping to be able to order these puzzles soon.

I am overjoyed that these puzzles will soon be available. I am hopeful that the sharing of these images between patients and caregivers will open a whole new line of communication, perhaps reviving some lost memories that they might share, even if for only a few moments.

Judith Wolcott, MSW/LCSW, Director of the Butterfield Healthcare/Meadowbrook Manor Homes, expressed her excitement over the upcoming puzzles:

“Oh, Max! I am soooo proud of you!!! You have to know that much of the credit for the development of these special puzzles goes to you!
Our residents at three locations are benefitting greatly from your puzzles. I like to think of your puzzle project as little lights blinking across the United States at all of the locations you have touched...”

The image shown above is one of the puzzle images that will be available for Alzheimer’s patients later this month. At that time, I will post a link on this site to where the puzzles can be ordered. Some of these puzzles will also be donated to where they can do the most good.

Max Wallack is a student at Boston University Academy. His great grandmother, Gertrude Finkelstein, suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Max is the founder of PUZZLES TO REMEMBER , a 501(c.)3 charitable organization. PUZZLES TO REMEMBER is a project that provides puzzles to nursing homes and other institutions that care for Alzheimer's and dementia patients.

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