For elderly people who suffer from dementia, hope has arrived in the form of a card game called A-HAH!
Dementia is an illness, usually affecting the elderly, where one’s cognitive abilities such as memory, language and intellect become progressively impaired.
Treatment for dementia patients, to date, have resembled playschool: Coloring books and puzzles have been the tools used to help them to improve their memory and motor skills.
A-HAH! Fruito and A-HAH! Memoritz are two card games designed specifically for dementia patients to help them learn and have fun at the same time.
Both card games contain 40 cards each. Each Fruito card has part of a fruit printed on it, when placed together correctly they form images of 10 different fruits. Memoritz cards, on the other hand, are numbered 0 to 9, and each bears a picture of an object pictured. These games help patients to improve their cognitive ability, and also helps stem the progression of the disease.
The two inventors of A-HAH!, Shereen Pong and Daniel Ling from >60 Design Centre, successfully launched their creation at the 24th Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International 2009. Pong says the games are designed to engage the minds of dementia patients. She hopes that the lives of these elderly patients can be significantly improved. Ling reveals that although the patients were initially apprehensive as they thought themselves to be too old to play, they found the games to be engaging and fun.
Each card game is priced at S$15 (excluding GST) and is available from the Alzheimer’s Disease Association. For more details, contact Ada at 6353 8734 or email at alzheimers tp@pacific.net.sg.
