More than 200,000 Alabamians provide 385 million hours of unpaid care to people living with dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

To help out, libraries around the state are offering cognitive care kits, which are puzzles and memory games to help caregivers and the 96,000 people in Alabama aged 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s. These kits include puzzles, games and other activities to stimulate the mind.

Melinda Smith with the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) reference department said the 19 cognitive care kits they have usually are checked out for 30 days by individual libraries hosting events, but that can be adjusted.

“If they communicate to us that they’d like it for longer, we’re willing to do that for the libraries,” Smith said. Library patrons should contact their local library to find out about obtaining a kit from APLS.

The Stay Sharp kits from Pen Worthy are available at APLS and feature themes like learning about the United States or different dog breeds.

Vestavia Hills Library and the North Shelby Library offer different cognitive care kits that also feature games, puzzles, and artwork.

“So the person can still have the joy of doing an activity that they love,” said Rita Jablonski, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and a nurse practitioner at the Brain Aging and Memory Clinic. “So it provides pleasure, not aggravation and frustration.”

Dr. Nicole Ruggiano is the associate dean for research in the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama and a faculty member at UAB’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. She said there’s evidence that one of the activities in the kit, reminiscence therapy, where an individual uses all of their senses to do an activity, can be helpful.

“Things that keep people with dementia occupied and focused, that can really help,” Ruggiano said.

Participating in fun activities with a loved one with dementia is a crucial tip Dr. David Geldmacher shares with caregivers. Geldmacher is the chair of the neurology department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is the director of the Memory Disorders and Behavioral Neurology division.

“I think focusing on things that make the affected person feel good, to feel engaged, to promote the quality of their day-to-day life, those are the things that caregivers really should focus on optimally,” Geldmacher said.

November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. For more information, including support and resources for caregivers, go to the websites of Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama, the Middle Alabama Area Agency on Aging, the National Institute on Aging, or the Alzheimer’s Association.