November is National Alzheimer's month

National Alzheimer's disease month.  We all know someone who is affected by this disease. In the early stages,  it gets passed off as general forgetfulness,  things like I forgot to mark my calendar.

When it reaches the end stages,  the people probably won't recognize family members or be able to live safely at home even with round the clock supervision. 

No matter how far down the line this disease has progressed,  people have tactile memories.  Smell is one of the first things to go as we get older with or without Alzheimer's, as is the sense of taste.  These go hand in hand.  Sight may go.  Hearing may go.  We don't know completely how the brain interprets these senses as the disease progresses.  One thing that doesn't change much is the sense of feel.   This can show itself as fidgeting, a love for touch or a fear of human touch.  It depends on how the individual's brain interprets these and what latent memories from earliest life are available.  Others lose their sense of touch in places.  They lose the ability to feel pain, to feel hunger, to feel thirst.  In many cases the victims of Alzheimer's will lose the muscle memory for swallowing as the disease enters its end stage.

A way to help these people to stay safe instead of up and wandering around to get lost or to fall is to create a fidget cloth.  Before I knew about these and could make one for my maternal grandmother, she would shred a box of facial tissues a day, one tissue at a time.  However, a fidget cloth is something like a lap robe or smaller like the size of a napkin.  It uses texture instead of color to create interest.  It uses pockets, ties, zippers, buttons and other things to create tactile interest.

Crochet textures can include front post and back post stitches, lace stitches, cables, heavy seams on patch pockets, beaded strings to feel and fiddle with, crochet chains for tying or wrapping around fingers and unwrapping, buttons to do and undo, snaps to feel snapping, zippers to zip.  Be sure to make these embellishments stay firmly attached.  Choking is not something we want.