ThinkPsych Golden Memories – 160 Conversation Starters for Adults – Memory Card Game for Seniors – Reminiscence Therapy – Dementia & Alzheimers Support Tool
$23.99
| Product Dimensions | 5.3 x 4 x 2.5 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1.61 pounds |
| Country of Origin | China |
| ASIN | B0DX45LNPR |
| Manufacturer recommended age | 55 years and up |
| Best Sellers Rank |
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| Customer Reviews |
4.8 out of 5 stars |
| Language | English |
| Manufacturer | ThinkPsych |
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11 reviews for ThinkPsych Golden Memories – 160 Conversation Starters for Adults – Memory Card Game for Seniors – Reminiscence Therapy – Dementia & Alzheimers Support Tool
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ThinkPsych Golden Memories – 160 Conversation Starters for Adults – Memory Card Game for Seniors – Reminiscence Therapy – Dementia & Alzheimers Support Tool
$23.99
Michele R. Elrod –
Helpful and gun fir ALZ patient
Very good for ALZ patient. Creates good conversation and exercises memory.
Melanie Kalamets –
Great thinking tools
I work with clients with Alzheimer’s and or dementia and these cards are wonderful.
GadgetGirl –
Good conversation prompts, but maybe best for stranger/someone that does not recognize you
I got this to help in conversation with my 90 year old mother. She does not have dementia, but tends to make every conversation about some event from her past. I was hoping for new conversational topics, perhaps some story I had never heard before. Sadly, only about 5% of the cards in this set seemed like good questions to ask her. Part of that is that I grew up in her household and was there for many of the events the cards ask about, or she has spoken about the topics frequently over the years. She is lucid enough that she might be worried about *my* mental health if I asked her about these already-shared topics.Nonetheless, this is an interesting card set and would be very good if you are trying to converse with someone that either does not remember/recognize you or you do not already know well. My impressions and evaluation…This card set has 4 different categories: History, Milestones, People, Senses. As I went through the set, I thought both about whether the card would be good for conversation with my mother and whether I would have an answer for the question. I admit to be slightly mortified that many of the “History” questions were about events that occurred while I was old enough to remember, though I may have been a mere tween at the time. I would say “History” would be a good category for anyone older than 65-70. “Milestones” had many questions (about 1/3) that would not apply to my mother, who was a stay-at-home-mom who never held a job or leadership position. “Milestone” questions about romantic relationships, marriage, and family would not apply to me talking with my mother but would be good if someone you know doesn’t recognize you or you don’t know them well. The “People” category would probably be the richest topic to draw my mother out, as people and relationships are important thing to her. While I have been on family vacations with her and know about many of her friendships, it would be interesting to see which ones she thought were most significant. Finally, “Senses”. “Senses” asks questions about sounds, smells, tastes, the sense of touch, and some sights. While the answers to some of these questions might be short (e.g., the sound of bells), thinking about the answer might invoke a longer story about why the sense that is being recalled reminds the speaker of some prompt (e.g. “what sound did you hear in the morning as a child?” – not a real question from the deck, BTW). There were some questions in “Senses” that I drew a straight-up blank on when I tried to think of my answer, but most were good given some second thought.
LK Ruby –
Recommended for those whose loved ones suffer from memory loss to assist in recalling past memories
I have been interested in genealogy and family history since I was a teenager and a big part of that is learning to ask the right questions in the right way to get the answers to whatever you are hoping to find out more about. There are the standard core questions that involve the basics – names, dates and places – that most know to ask automatically. But the questions that really define a life are the events and emotions that make a person who they are, and it is what most family historians and social historians are really after. Those are the questions I am constantly on the lookout for, or new and better ways to phrase old ones to elicit a response.This set of questions about ones life and memories intrigued me, as they are advertised as being written by mental health professionals, which I am not, and who had taken into account the needs of people who had some form of dementia at the same time. I wondered what they might ask and how different those questions would be or the phrasing of them.This set of questions – and there are 160 questions in total – have been grouped into four broad categories – milestones, history, people and senses, and the questions were written to evoke memories to both boost mood and help create connections with others. While I found the milestone questions similar to what I might have thought of on my own to ask, I was surprised with the history questions having been more up to date that what is often seen or suggested to ask. Instead of asking about how World War 2 impacted your life and your memories from that time, they instead are asking about your memories of when email first started, reminding me that I should be writing down my memories as well, as I am no longer considered part of the middle generation who has parents still living, but am now considered part of the elder generation that is supposed to know the answers to those sort of questions. I found the questions being asked about people interesting and different, as the question might start by asking about something someone else did, and end by asking how you felt about what that person did. As well, the sensory category of questions included ways of trying to help someone recall past memories by asking questions about taste, touch, smell sight and sound rather than asking a question about a specific memory, and then see where that sense actually takes them going back in time.I actually found this set of questions about recalling family history or memories of a life very interesting indeed, and while it gave me less ideas of new questions that should be asked, it definitely opened my eyes as to different ways to help someone with memory issues try and recall things from their past and possibly help them to both connect and communicate those memories with better clarity to others.
Karen Hill –
Fun, insightful, easy to use
These are fun cards for conversations with family and friends that like to talk about their lives. The categories, which I really like, make it easy to ask which topic they want to answer a question from. I also give them the option to skip any card they draw that they don’t want to answer. I want to hear their memories and stories, so I make it comforting ahead of time by removing questions I know they or we won’t like. It makes it more fun. In the past, I participated in a few oral history projects that were then catalogued in a local museum, and I still love to hear elders stories. This card deck is well designed with color coding, bold labels, images, and large font. I definitely recommend these.
The Reviewer –
Really nice card set
These cards are a great way to ask questions about the older family members life and get different stories or answers told in a different way. It’s fun to play and we record them as they tell stories. Each card has a nice question. It could be used for you to create your own family story book to pass down to your children too!
Johnny3B –
There are so many benefits for differing categories of seniors, ranging from Cognitive Stimulation, Emotional Connection, Improved Communication. And while they can be therapeutic, they also offer enhanced engagement and enjoyment which helps alleviate boredom, loneliness and in some cases isolation with seniors. If you have ever sat with elderly people for an extended period of time, even when they are family you will run out of things to talk about or more to the point, as often it becomes the weather and health issues and yes, the same stories about familiar events are recounted, often more than once.Here is an engaging and enjoyable solution. Even after only a couple of uses, I am a complete fan. In speaking with my folks whether in person or online video, I share with them today’s “Reflection Card” and with that I read the card and enjoy hearing their memories. These are absolutely brilliant for many reasons, and at the very least they provide great memories and we learn a completely different perspective. I cannot recommend these highly enough, and best of all they can be used for all ages really. Perhaps not all of the cards apply to all ages (these are rated for 65+) but there is a great assortment of cards and categories that certainly will result in some great storytelling and fond recollections.I use the card as the foundation and will build on the question depending on how they answer- E.g. Card: Did the introduction of credit cards change your financial habits? (and then I will add: “and how” – if they offer a closed ended response). In fact, we are heading on a four-hour road trip with them shortly and we will bring these cards along to generate discussions in those quiet moments. These are a real treasure!
Zephyr –
Review for: “Golden Memories – 160 Conversation Starters for Adults – Memory Card Game for Seniors – Reminescence Therapy – Dementia & Alzheimers Support Tool”Brand: THINKPSYCHFirst look: The Golden Memories Conversation Cards came in a box (9.9 cm x 7.1 cm x 13.2 cm) with instructions. The top of the box comes off to reveal the cards and hold them in place. Each card is quite large at 8.9 cm wide x 12.7 cm. There was a bit of a smell to the cards at first, similar to burning electronics.The cards are arranged by colour and there are 40 of each of the four categories: The bluish-purple “Historical Events” cards promote conversations about how world events shaped your life and perspective. The green “Life Milestones” cards allow you to reflect on personal moments and achievements. The orange “People” cards start conversations about relationships with family members & friends. The yellow “Sensory” cards help re-live experiences through sight, sound, taste, and smell. There are no numbers on the cards so they can be used in any order.One side of each card has the words “Golden Memories” and the theme of the cards: “History”, “Milestones”, “People”, and “Senses”. The other side of the card also has the theme at the top, “Golden Memories” at the bottom and the conversation starter in the middle with large text about 4mm high.The “History” theme includes questions about events from the ’60s, ’70s & ’80s, first experiences with different adventures, shows you watched, and items/services you used for the first time like email, cell phones, microwaves, internet, VCRs, ATMs, credit cards, computers, etc.The “Milestones” themed cards include the first music album you bought, most memorable birthday, the hardest thing you’ve done, how it was learning to drive, when you made a difference in someone’s life, a big risk you took, when you travelled abroad, the moment you achieved a long-term goal, first concert, first big purchase, first vacation, having children, getting married, retirement, first romantic relationship, first home, what it was like graduating from school etc.The theme about “People” includes cards like memorable family vacations, your best friend growing up, what you remember about your grandparents, a keepsake and its significance to the family, valuable life lessons learned from your parents, a childhood game, a friend who has been in your life for decades, a funny story or inside joke that still makes your family laugh, a mentor or role model in your life, dinner time while growing up, how your relationship with the family has changed over time, a family recipe that has been passed down, a piece of advice someone gave you, family reunions that stand out, a friend who has a special talent or skill, favourite meeting spot for you and your friends as a teen, family pet, a quirky or unique tradition that your family or group has, a teacher or school friend who changed the way you saw the world, adventurous things you’ve done with people, etc.The “Senses” category includes cards like: a sound that reminds you of your first job, the feeling of a favourite sweater, a sight in your hometown, your favourite meal as a child, a song from your youth that makes you smile, the sound of your favourite childhood toy, a sound from nature that’s comforting, a taste that reminds you of summer, a sound from your family home that you miss the most, the taste of your favourite candy from childhood, etc.Opinion: I was surprised by the size of these cards as they are very big and also the print is quite large so they are easy to read, even for older people.I was tired of having the same conversation each time my family got together, and these cards are great for really getting into some depth. It’s really neat to hear different views of childhood from siblings that are now aunts and uncles. It would be also neat to talk to grandparents or elderly people about things they experienced in their lifetime.I like all the categories and thoughtful questions & conversation starters. If one card doesn’t apply or brings back bad memories, just flip to the next card.
Nick –
This is such a simple but great concept for folks that want to engage and have deeper conversations with their loved ones whose memories might be starting to fade a bit. My father was diagnosed with early dementia symptoms and his memory has taken a very noticeable decline in the last few years. I see him weekly and our conversations usually go to the same stories that he likes to tell myself and my kids. These cue cards are an excellent way to get more great stories out of him while helping him exercise his memory muscles. Simple one sentence questions that can lead to some deep conversations and are actually fun to think through about in your own life, whether you have memory issues or not. A lot of the questions helped us get new stories/memories out of him that I’d never heard before! With 160 cards, we are sure to not run out any time soon. The box and cards themselves come in a nice overall package as well.I found some of the questions/cues were a little hit or miss. There’s an entire category of cards dedicated to senses, with questions like ‘what was the smell of your first car like?’, ‘what did your school cafeteria smell like?’; which are kind of interesting but we found never really went anywhere in our discussions. Even myself, with no memory issues, had a hard time starting a conversation with those cues. There’s even some pretty oddly specific ones like ‘how did the gas shortage of the 1970s impact your life?’.That being said, you can tell that this set was developed by professionals (as advertised) so perhaps the different cues that didn’t work well for my family would work better for others. Definitely recommend this product to anyone with a parent/loved one experiencing memory loss!
sunrise –
This is a set of well thought out cards that can be used in so many different ways. Of the 4 categories (History, Milestones, People and Senses), the cards in the categories “People” and “Senses” are my favorite and they can be used to connect and bond with friends, family members and relatives of many age groups. I found it fun just going through them myself! The cards in the “History” category contain questions about the 60s so those would only be suitable for people 60+, but you can always skip a card if it isn’t relevant. Overall, I think these are excellent.
Ava Ryder –
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I brought out these Golden Memories cards, but they quickly became a hit to get my older relatives talking, and wow, they delivered!The questions are like gentle nudges that get everyone reminiscing without turning into a history test. It’s amazing how a simple prompt can unlock stories I never knew existed (and some I wish I hadn’t heard, but hey, that’s family).The cards are big enough to read without squinting like you’re trying to decode ancient hieroglyphics, which is a win. Whether it’s one-on-one or a full family showdown, these cards turn awkward silences into laughter and “remember when” moments. Who knew memory work could be this entertaining?