I’ve been reminded over the weekend (thanks Mandy S) of a woman called Anne Davis Bastings, author of a wonderful book Forget Memory. Mandy also alerted me to Anne’s TimeSlip’s Creative  Storytelling program and I recommend you have a look.

There is another version of this type of storybook called Storybird and the poem created shown there was written by Jacqui Ridings, and features on the NSW Government Dementia Care resource and training network e-Learning website.

Both versions are useful for helping people with dementia or other forms of cognitive impairment create poems and stories as a way of either helping with memory recall, or simply for creating fun stories.

However, neither program allows you to use your own images, which I find prohibitive. The digital story  I made was more personal because I could use my own images and music. The problem with that for others might be that it is digital, but more residential care facilities, dementia units and almost all homes have access to the a computer. Or at least, these days, residential care facilities and dementia units should have them.

Microsoft’s Photo Story 3 for Windows is a free Windows program that lets you create audiovisual presentations out of your photos and images. This is the one I used to make my digital story, and it was relatively easy at the time; I’m about to try again, so will find out how the symptoms of dementia may have changed that.  Of course, I have the advantage of a very helpful BUB!

A digital story or photo book, set with music the person relates to, and with voice over of a person in their life would make it more impacting as a tool to give pleasure and joy, as well as help with remembering. I think its inherent value to a person with dementia would be significantly increased.

There are a number of other ways you can make memory or story books, although they all cost money, such as albumworks, Mixbook, Tikatok, and Shutterfly. This Free Digital Storytelling program reads well, but I have not used it so can’t comment on how easy it is.

OfficeWorks also provide a cheap option for a photobook, as long as you have someone who can get there for you. My youngest son put together a memory book of my father’s 80th birthday celebration held earlier this year, and it took him about 30 minutes to do so. There were about 40 images, and it cost $29.95, bound together as a beautiful hard cover book.

Ps: A call for HELP… I am having trouble setting the text next to images. Would someone/anyone be able to help please???  Done! Thanks Sarah Y xox