The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is introducing a ‘AFA Teens for Alzheimer’s Awareness College Scholarship’ in 2008. The $5,000 scholarship is designed to be used in the student’s first year of college.
Interested High School students (juniors and seniors) have to write a 1,200 words essay about ‘the impact Alzheimer’s Disease has one their own lives and what they have learned about themselves, their families and/or their community in coping with the disease.’. The application deadline is February 15th and details can be found at the website.
The AFA Teens website is also a great place for teens to visit to learn …read more

SeniorStore.com sells three great activity books that offer the opportunity to remember and reminisce about earlier decades.
1920s

1930s

1940s

Exercise is another important component of staying healthy and depending on what stage of Alzheimer’s Disease the person is at, an exercise or fitness video might be an appropriate gift, especially if they aren’t able to get out and about due to weather…
Of course, it would be important to discuss this with the person’s doctor first to ensure that it would help and not impair the person’s health. Various other medical conditions could be contra indictive to exercive videos.
Resources:
Active Videos
Senior Store

How about a classic board game for the person with Alzheimer’s Disease?
It’s a known fact that engaging in mentally stimulating activities on a regular basis helps to maintain brain function. Board games can provide that stimulation.
And not only do the games provide mental stimulation, they also provide a bonding activity for the whole family. Buy a game and then plan on regular game days or evenings for the family.

A personalized wooden jigsaw puzzle is a great idea for a gift. It would provide not only a familiar memory for the person with Alzheimer’s Disease but would also provide an cognitive skills actiivity.
This video shows how it is made…

Adopting the persona of ‘Grandma Joyce’ social worker Joyce Simard uses props such as a pair of oversized star-shaped, blue-lensed eyeglasses and walking frame.
It’s all part of an educational program that Joyce runs to teach children about aging and Alzheimer’s Disease, and to show children how to visit and have fun with grandparents with memory loss. This 45 minute program is aimed at chidren in the third to fifth grades and uses story-telling, singing, and role playing.
The program has been presented to schools and libraries throughout the country over the past six years. During this time, Joyce Simard …read more

One family’s story about dealing with Alzheimer’s which compelled them to create The Unforgettable Fund.

Another study recently published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, has found that “…people who don’t finish high school are at a higher risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease compared to people with more education, regardless of lifestyle choices and characteristics such as income, occupation, physical activity and smoking.” (reference – Medical News Today)
Further Reading:
High School Achievers Less Likely to Develop Alzheimer’s Disease (2005)
More evidence ties education to lower dementia risk (2007)
Not Finishing High School May Lead to Memory Problems (2007)

Sometimes the best way to understand something is to get up close and personal. That’s what a school in New Brunswick did when they decided to educate a group of 6th Grade students about Alzheimer’s Disease. Instead of simply learning by the book, the students were all assigned a ‘pen pal’ – a person with Alzheimer’s disease living in a local long-term care facilitiy. The students wrote letter and sent photos to their pen pals, exchanged holiday cards, and visited them at the residential care facility.
As you can tell from the writing and art works that the students created, it …read more

Alzheimer’s Notes joined in the Carnival of Family Life . This carnival features all sorts of articles regarding the who, how, where, what, and when of family life.
Our post ‘Helping Children Understand Alzheimer’s Disease’ was listed alongside other interesting, entertaining, and informative articles. My favorites include ‘Things You Can Do and Learn With Your Children’ and ‘Your Green Back to School Guide.’