As many of you know, my externship this semester is with adults. Since my week one update, I’ve grown to really enjoy my patients.
So so so many of my patients have dementia. I’ve been hearing a lot about making memory & orientation books, but had difficulty finding templates, ideas, and examples online. So of course, I made my own! You can download it for FREE at the bottom of this post. Hopefully this helps inspire some of you who work with adults.
Note: Read to the very bottom of this post for links to some other websites about memory/orientation book and other AAC strategies for persons with dementia.
How To Make A Memory And/Or Orientation Book:
1) Start with your materials. I collect white cardstock, colored cardstock, some patterned scrapbook paper, thin binders, a hole punch, glue sticks, and the pictures you want to use.
2) Print the pages of my binder that you want to include (or make your own!).
3) If you decided to use the label pages, cut out the labels.
4) Make a big mess and drink some tea. (not necessary but trying to give you the whole process… ;)) And back your pictures and labels with colored cardstock to make the book extra colorful and pretty!
5) Assemble! The pictures above are two examples of orientation pages using the labels.
And the two pages above are examples of a memory book I might make for myself! I do think I need one some days…
Again, this is just how I made my book. Feel free to get creative and make it with your style! Below are some additional pictures of my product that I didn’t show above:
My product includes three sections:
1) Memory Book Template: This entire section is in black and white for easy printing for each resident! Places for pictures are marked and labeled. See example pages with cursive writing above for examples!
2) Orientation Book Template: The same structure as the memory book section (all black and white) except for it is orientation based. There is a weekly and monthly schedule included as well. See example pages with print (not cursive) above for examples. Additionally, a label page is included as shown in the example pictures at the beginning of this post.
3) Safety Signs: See the product pictures in the middle of this post for one example (with the stop sign).
As of now, it is 66 pages long. BUT CATCH THIS. For the first couple months I have this product up, I will add pages that YOU need! Just purchase the pr0duct and if a page is missing, let me know and I’ll update the product for you and everybody else containing that page!
Click here to download this resource for FREE.
**I no longer have the bandwidth to keep this resource updated so it is now available as a lifelong freebie in case it’s still helpful for you. Unlike most of my resources, it does not come with any future updates.
More Resources for Memory/Orientation Books:
Creating Memory Books and Activity Kits
Therapeutic Interventions with Individuals with Dementia
AAC Strategies for Persons with Dementia (from ASHA)
Love the layout of the book! Love the “Stop” sign! When my mom was nearing 100 years old, alerting messages like that really got her attention. And when my dad was in the more advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, the memory book I made him of my horses was his touch-stone to reality (that is the reality of the memories still in his head). Every time I saw him, he would say, “How are the girls?” meaning the horses, and this was our connection. It remained till the final days of his life!
Thanks, Marge! Glad to hear that things like this helped your mom. Love that about your dad! What an amazing connection!
This is great and just what i need at the moment. Thank you so much for sharing your hard work.
shannon, this is so great. I am trying to write articles for our first newsletter in a long time. I had a partner but realized her memory was really not good. So here I am looking for materials. I am wanting to include your website address and some of the information if possible. Would this be okay?
Yes that is fine! Thank you for asking!
Shannon, I would much rather ask and be told NO then to not ask at all. I have a bachelor of social work and a want-to-be-writer. I would expect the same courtesy.
I would very much like to purchase the memory book printables. However when I tried to register in the teacher store as a new user I kept getting a invalid email address message. If you could help me with this I would really appreciate it. My mother has dementia and we would like to make her a memory book. Thank you.
I am so sorry about that! I’d definitely recommend reaching out to Teachers Pay Teachers tech support. They are typically fabulous at helping with tech issues on their site like this. It might also be worth trying again and double checking your email was typed in correctly. I do know the site was giving me some troubles last night as well. You can reach out to TpT tech support at the link below:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Contact
Hope that helps! Thanks for your message.
EVERYONE should make a version of the memory book. Having lived with aging parents, a major pleasure is looking through photos and handling their treasures. Because I have sentimental attachments to material things, I have cut pieces of material from ragged robes, stapled the fabric to an index card, and labeled it. Or taken a photo of something meaningful to me and labeled it, with a story of why it is important. I fully expect to sitting in my room someday, with my primary activity being listening to music and handling my precious memories.