Creating Meaningful Dementia Engagement
The Story Behind Geri-Gadgets
By Laurie Miller, Founder of Age Tech Now
How do you create meaningful engagement for someone living with dementia when puzzles, games and other traditional activities are no longer accessible?
Geri-Gadgets offers a refreshingly simple answer.
Designed specifically for people living with dementia, Geri-Gadgets are adult-appropriate sensory pieces made from food-grade silicone. They are washable, durable and intuitive. There are no instructions, no required cognitive skills and no “right” way to use them.
A person might touch, hold, stack, sort, arrange, toss or simply explore the pieces. The goal is not to complete a task. It is to create opportunities for curiosity, pleasure, movement and connection.
I recently spoke with Geri-Gadgets founder Angela Fairhurst about the personal experience that inspired the product, what she has learned about dementia engagement and why even a brief moment of connection can change the quality of someone’s day.
What inspired you to create Geri-Gadgets?
It started with my mother, who was living with Lewy body dementia. I noticed her touching and rolling the shiny pages of a magazine between her fingers. She was clearly seeking sensory input and still looking for ways to interact with the world around her.
I went looking for things that might engage her, but most of what I found was either made for children, overly complicated, not washable or simply inappropriate for an adult with dementia. There had to be something better.
The breakthrough came in my own kitchen. I had a food-grade silicone potholder and wondered if she would respond to the texture. I cut it down and brought it to her. She loved touching it, and then we started tossing it back and forth.
Suddenly, we were interacting again. I had found a way in.
Why are many traditional dementia activities difficult to use?
There are certainly activities available for people living with dementia, but many require cognitive ability, instructions or a right answer. Others are adapted children’s toys or activities that can feel infantilizing.
When someone is further along in their dementia journey, many traditional activities simply are not accessible anymore.
I wanted something adult-appropriate, tactile and intuitive that did not require instructions and could not be done “wrong.” Something you could simply put into someone’s hands and see where they took it.
Did your understanding of dementia engagement change as you developed Geri-Gadgets?
Yes. Initially, I thought engagement could help prevent what are often called “bad behaviors” in dementia, such as agitation, restlessness, repetitive movements, wandering or resistance.
What I came to understand is that these are not necessarily bad behaviors at all. They are often communication. A person may be frightened, uncomfortable, bored, overstimulated or trying to express something they can no longer put into words.
That completely changed my perspective.
Instead of asking, “How do we stop this behavior?” I started asking, “What is this person trying to tell us, and how can we meet them where they are?”
Engagement can give them another way to communicate and connect.
Can sensory activities still help during the later stages of dementia?
Just last week, I led an activity session at a care community with six people in the latest stages of dementia. All were in wheelchairs, several had very limited hand mobility and some would drift off to sleep for a few minutes at a time.
But every single person engaged for the full 45-minute session, each in their own way.
Some made very slow movements. Some simply held and felt the pieces. Others explored them by putting them in their mouths. One care professional lined up the Shapes like dominoes for a woman, and she delighted in pushing them over and watching them topple. Then they would set them up and do it again.
Even when someone nodded off, they would wake up and return to engaging. At the end of the session, they were still so involved that we had to take the Geri-Gadgets out of their hands.
It was a powerful reminder that engagement does not have to look the way we expect it to.
Even in the latest stages of dementia, there are still ways to create moments of curiosity, pleasure and connection.
Does meaningful dementia engagement need to last a long time?
No. A meaningful 15-minute interaction can be incredibly valuable.
Touch, connection and positive sensory experiences can affect how someone feels beyond the activity itself. That is one of the things I find so compelling about food-grade silicone. Its soft, skin-like tactile quality encourages touch and sensory exploration.
I do not look at a 15-minute engagement session and think, “That’s only 15 minutes.”
If someone who was withdrawn becomes interested, calmer, more connected or simply experiences pleasure in that moment, that is significant. The positive feeling created by the experience can last beyond the interaction itself.
When it creates an opportunity for a family member or care professional to connect with that person, it is worth even more.
The goal is not to keep someone occupied all day. It is to create meaningful moments that can change the quality of the day.
What advice would you give someone struggling to connect with a person living with dementia?
Meet them where they are.
Do not keep trying to bring them back to where you are or where they used to be. Pay attention to what they can still enjoy, feel and respond to, rather than focusing on what they can no longer do.
Connection is not always a conversation. It can be touch, movement, music, laughter, eye contact or simply sharing something together.
What do you wish more people understood about people living with dementia?
That they are still there.
They may experience and communicate with the world differently, but they are still there, even in the latest stages. They still need connection, dignity, purpose, pleasure and human interaction.
We tend to focus so much on what dementia takes away that we can miss what remains.
When you find the right way to reach someone, you can still have incredibly meaningful moments together. And when you give, you get so much in return.
Creating Moments That Matter
Angela’s story is an important reminder that meaningful dementia engagement does not need to be complicated, last for hours or produce a finished result.
Sometimes it begins by placing something interesting into a person’s hands and allowing them to show us what comes next.
Geri-Gadgets were created to honor the abilities, curiosity and personhood that remain throughout dementia. They give families and professionals another way to connect without instructions, expectations or the possibility of failure.
Geri-Gadgets may be helpful for families, dementia care professionals, senior living communities and adult day programs looking for intuitive, adult-appropriate ways to encourage sensory engagement and connection.
Because even when words and familiar activities become difficult, the need for pleasure, dignity and human connection remains.
Learn more about Geri-Gadgets in the Age Tech Now Directory.
About the author: Laurie Miller holds a master’s degree in Aging Studies and has spent more than 20 years helping families navigate aging, dementia and care decisions. She is the founder of Age Tech Now, a curated resource helping families and professionals discover practical technology, tools and guidance for aging. She is the founder and owner of Apple Care and Companion, a family owned home care agency serving the Dallas area since 2006.