CAN YOU RECALL?

       Welcome to the Can You Recall series of books.

Whilst these books can be enjoyed by everyone, they are specifically designed to be helpful to those with dementia and their carers.

The word ‘dementia’ does not feature in the book titles or anywhere else in these books, except in a removable cut-out page at the front.

 Tips on using these book

These books include a selection of puzzles and quizzes from a chosen era, focussing on popular culture including films, music, TV, sport and books.

Whilst some people can work through the quizzes and puzzles independently, others will benefit from them as a shared activity with a friend, family member or carer. In this case the aim is to generate discussion and reminiscence as much as to solve a puzzle. Reminiscence is important because many people with progressive memory disorders will be more confident talking about early memories rather than more recent events. This confidence will make the activity more enjoyable. Rather than focus too much on right or wrong answers, the books can be used as an aid to conversation. For the primary carer or visiting family and friends these books can be a useful tool to help to actively engage with someone with dementia.

     The level of difficulty 

Pages offering a selection of answers, for example matching song title to artist, can be made easier as necessary, by suggesting a more limited choice of only two or three possible answers. If this is too difficult, then simply remembering some lines of the lyrics or the tune of a song can be just as stimulating.