User Reviews Send this to a friend
The Sunshine on My Face: A Read-Aloud Book for Memory-Challenged Adults
 
Manufacturer: Health Professions Press
Customer Rating:
 
List Price: $19.95
Sale Price: $13.57
Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours
Free Shipping Available
Buy Now
 

Product Description
You won’t find a simpler way to interact meaningfully and enjoyably with someone with memory impairment! Just sit down together, open this colorful and engaging book across both laps, and begin reading, reminiscing, and communing. This read-aloud book is the perfect way for family members or friends to visit or for caregiving staff to get to know residents.

In this innovative book, colorful illustrations accompany short, easy-to-read text that describes universally appealing experiences: feeling the warmth of the sun on your face, listening to music, watching children play, going for a ride in the countryside. Pictures and text together will spark boundless opportunities to discuss and remember happy times and comforting experiences.

Styled with the appeal and simplicity of a children’s book but created for adult audiences, this first-of-its-kind Two-Lap Book™ can serve multiple purposes: • Stimulate conversation and reminiscence • Encourage physical closeness and interaction • Provide a calming diversion from an upsetting episode • Inspire intergenerational exchanges with children • Increase social interaction between staff and residents • Promote reading skills in residents who retain their literacy

Reading the Sunshine on My Face is an instant activity—no planning or preparation required. Open it to a favorite illustration… read it from start to finish… or select just a page or two to spark an exchange. Tips on how to promote engagement with the book are provided—or just use your own creativity! Here is a natural and unlimited opportunity to rebuild connections for the person with dementia, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and related disorders.

Product Details
No details are available for this product

Video Reviews
No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews
Not Only For One's Parents
 
Review Date: May 9, 2005
Reviewer: Kevin Killian, San Francisco, CA United States
Let me second the enthusiasm for Burdick's delightful book, which indeed will bring back some haunting images from even the most caved-in mind. It is not, however, solely geared for family members and I would encourage all to buy a copy of this book, you do not need to have a mother or father with Alzheimer's, it is perfect for reading along with any friends of yours, even younger people, who are troubled by memory challenges in the Alzheimer's range. For example, I took this book with me on my visit to the local elderhostel near my home, offering to share it with anyone who would like to read a good book, and once we were snuggled up on a park bench overlooking a pool swimming with koi, the "two lap" approach found me reading aloud to a white male stranger who might have been in his early 80s, a dignified man whose clothes were impeccable, if somewhat out of style, and obviously he had memory problems as he could not tell me his name. We sat down and began to pore through the book, with its lovely illustrations--not childlike, just very clear and nostalgic. After a few pages he told me that he had been in the Normandy Invasion! There are other suggestions in the book, tips on how to say things in ways which don't threaten the memory-challenged adult, and to my astonishment the man was telling me about a friend of his who had drowned in the surf on Omaha Beach, and he (my new friend) had climbed to safety on the back of his dead buddy. When we got to the part about his favorite song, he began to sing, "My Buddy," a song which I did not know but he sang it so loudly that others in the park turned their heads and a few chimed in.

Some residents said that this man had not spoken aloud in years, and one said this was the first time anyone even knew that my new friend was an American. He spoke so little that, based on his name, many had thought he was a Frenchman marooned in this country by dementia. That day we truly felt "the sunshine on our faces." Even though it was not (strictly speaking) a good memory, it was still a precious one.
A gift for caregivers and loved ones
 
Review Date: April 20, 2005
Reviewer: a CT reader,
Lydia Burdick has given caregivers and family members a true gift by showing them a way to interact with their loved ones who may be slipping into dementia. This book is simple and lovely and evokes happy memories that can bring about conversations with those we love. The illustrations are bright and colorful and the text is simple and direct. And it's big enough so it fits on two laps at once! This is a true work of the heart.
The Sunshine on My Face
 
Review Date: April 9, 2005
Reviewer: Susan Berg,
This book is an excellent book to share with one or more memory challenged adults. Every page can spark memories from the past. The idea page at the end of the book is quite helpful if the reader is at a loss for ideas. Each time the book is read can be a whole new experience. I highly recommend this book to caregivers, family, friends, or professionals working with the dementia population
Susan Berg AD BS(COTA/L) author of, Adorable Photographs of Our Baby: Meaningful, Mind Stimulating Activities and More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones, and Involved Professionals"
This book helped my father.
 
Review Date: May 9, 2005
Reviewer: Corinna Makris, New York, NY
My father is in a nursing home with an Alzheimers related illness. It has been a long time since he talked about his life, rather than present time, moment-to-moment experiences. When he and I held the two-lap book and I read with him he began to brighten up and remember things, especially the drive in the country page. He remembered loving bringing his family on country drives and even mentioned places we used to go. We had one of the sweetest visits that we have had in years. Thank you for this book!

I am talking to the nursing home about having several copies to read to the other patients.

Corinna
Connects with the Boomers
 
Review Date: January 14, 2005
Reviewer: Steve, New York
With adults living longer, we are seeing that more of them are becoming less mentally capable and worse yet, forgetful of their own lives. For the children, this is a difficult time. The concept of connecting at a level that allows you to share the remaining precious moments, is important. The author has taken a simple idea and turned it into a delightful book. I strongly recommend this book to those who are in that difficult position.
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • BlinkList
  • Diigo
  • Fark
  • Faves
  • LinkaGoGo
  • MisterWong
  • MySpace
  • Propeller
  • Reddit
  • Simpy
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter

Technorati Tags: adults, book, Face, memorychallenged, readaloud, sunshine

Tagged with: • • • • •

Filed under: Alzheimers

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!