Genealogy as Dementia Therapy
- Leslie Ryan
- Jul 10
- 2 min read
Genealogy as dementia therapy is a growing industry. When your loved ones start to lose their memories it is difficult for the whole family. Recent studies have shown that building a family tree can be helpful to everyone involved!
The Alzheimer's Society recommends "reminiscence work" which is helping a person with their life story, making a record whether with a family tree on paper, or online, or a photo album or a combination of these!
Talk about what they do remember - their parents, or where they lived, or went to school, or their siblings, for example. Building a family tree together builds connections between the generations, and stimulate other memories.
Dementia therapists believe that this memory stimulation can delay the cognitive decline!
There as nothing as rewarding for a caregiver or family member as the smile of recognition and remembering; seeing the renewed spark in the eyes of a person who is becoming lost. You might get to hear new stories you never heard before! The oldest memories are often the sharpest, it's the present that gets confusing.
You can build a scrapbook in hard form or online with photos and Family Group Sheets showing how everyone fits in their tree. Look on the internet to see if their home is still standing if they remember the address (the Census will last an address too, if they don't), or their schools, or where they worked, the church they got married in, or any other significant places they do remember, and take screen shots! When this life story is completed, you will have a permanent record of your family member and your places in this "Circle of Life."
There are some links below for more information about Genealogy as Dementia Therapy. If you'd like my help gathering back up documentation for those memories, or in printing out a keepsake, just send me an email!
Hoping you and yours are healthy and happy this Summer,
Leslie Ryan
Memory loss therapy from Alzheimers Org in the UK
Private organization with ideas about Genealogy as Dementia Therapy
YouTube videos of seminar presented by the National Genealogical Society and vendors or Dementia Therapy software
No compensation is received for any links herein. No direct referral to these private vendors is offered or recommended. This is for additional information purposes only.
No copyright infringement is intended.
