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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2004
Contact: Colleen Coxe, ccoxe@coxeandco.com,
207-781-5479
Alzheimer Care Facilities Use Puzzles
to Benefit Patients
-- Puzzles Appropriate
as Individual or Group Activities --
YARMOUTH, Maine - For Patricia Thompson, founder of PuzzledMinds,
the idea to develop puzzles for people with Alzheimer's disease
came when she was rushing out the door of her home in Maine
to see her father in New Jersey, who was in the middle stages
of the debilitating disease.
"I wanted to bring a puzzle that we could do together,
something that would be stimulating, but not frustrating,"
said Thompson. "When I looked at what we had at home,
I had to choose between children's puzzles with cartoon characters
on them that had the right sized pieces, or 500-piece puzzles
with small pieces and very complex pictures." She chose
instead, to bring neither.
After nearly two years of research and development, last fall
PuzzledMinds introduced high quality, six and 12 piece wooden
puzzles that feature graphics chosen especially to help stimulate
people with Alzheimer's and related forms of dementia.
Assisted living and nursing home facilities that specialize
in caring for people with Alzheimer's disease have found PuzzledMinds
puzzles to be helpful as an individual or group activity.
"We have a number of residents who will not attend group
activities," said Tesa Brown, RN, director of nursing
and Ft. Sanders Sevier Nursing Home. "The activity director
has been taking PuzzledMinds puzzles to those people and working
with them individually.
"The photos and graphics are beautiful and very appropriate
for older adults, and the wooden knobs make the pieces easier
for the residents to manipulate. Some of them will actually
put the pieces together, while other will look at them, and
hold them. They are great for both visual and tactile stimulation."
Thompson's father died in early 2003, shortly before the prototypes
of the puzzles were completed. But his death merely reinforced
Thompson's desire to market the puzzles.
According to the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders
Association, Inc., approximately 4.5 million Americans have
the disease, which is characterized by gradual loss of brain
cells. Yet despite these numbers, PuzzledMinds is one of the
few companies that has developed activity products specifically
designed to promote cognitive functioning.
More information, including order forms, is available on
the PuzzledMinds web site, www.puzzledminds.com, or by calling
800-876-5950.
About PuzzledMinds, LLC
PuzzledMinds, LLC is based in Yarmouth, Maine and develops
and markets puzzles and other activity products for people
with Alzheimer's Disease and other cognitive disabilities.
The company was launched in 2003. The puzzles are the company's
first product line, and were designed in Maine and are being
produced in Mexico.
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