After finding it difficult to entertain people with dementia, Belgian nurse Tim Carpentier decided to develop his own games and activities tailored to his patients in a locked ward.
“What started as an urge to come up with an activity tailored to the needs of people suffering from dementia has grown into a small company renting out suitcases packed with nostalgia and board games for elders,” he wrote in an email.
Some of the projects he’s created to date include:
A “suitcase of memories” that he rents to people. It contains about 80 day-to-day objects that help elders evoke memories of their youth. Objects like a slate and stylus, an old leather satchel, a coffee grinder, an old bar of sunlight soap, … these items to mull over are accompanies by a selection of older music and films to guarantee an afternoon of joy and reminiscences.
Here is A short film about Tim and his suitcase of memories
Following the success of his invention, Tim earlier this year transformed the idea of the suitcase into a brain game called Rememborie which you can purchase using this link.
The game was developed in co-operation with Vinco Educational and is a sort of “immersion” box designed to obtain one-on-one contact with people suffering from dementia. A big asset of this game is that it can also be played with people in wheelchairs or who are bedridden.
