About a year and a half ago my mom started showing signs that her memory was declining. As a family we took steps to ensure that bills were paid, finances were secure, care was given, and dignity was maintained. We have been managing, but a recent event made us realize that although the details of my mom’s life are being attended to, her memory skills were not being challenged enough and she was starting to respond with, “I don’t remember” several times in a conversation.
After talking with doctors, nurses, therapists, and caretakers, we have a new strategy — to help mom challenge her memory, and provide her with tools that will help regain her confidence. One of the tools suggested is a simple lined notebook, so mom can write down the details of her day. We found that while this was a good idea in theory, in practice she didn’t follow through because there were no parameters. So we tried asking her to respond to very specific prompts, and found that this worked to give her focus and was encouraging to us, because it allowed us to talk with mom about the details of her day, instead of getting the standard, “I don’t remember” response when asked about her day.
Because my goal is to provide practical art that can be used in the everyday, I created “My Memory Journal” for my mom, and for your mom or loved one struggling with lost confidence due to memory loss, cognitive decline, or Alzheimer’s Disease. The journal is available on Amazon and includes prompts and space to record the days date, appointments, to do list, highlights of the day, and log meals, fluid intake, medications, exercise, and a miscellaneous section to log up to three additional items.
My hope and prayer is that your loved ones memory confidence would be boosted, that “Reality Orientation” would be improved, and that you would enjoy conversation as your loved one shares details of their day. Deb
