An Immersive Creative Writing Experience

Have you considered using creative writing as a way to create new memories with your loved one? Don’t worry, you do not need to be a well published author to start digging deep into the creative center of the brain and articulate vividly colorful narratives. Every person has a brilliant new story to tell. We believe in the endless possibilities creative writing has for someone living with a disease like Alzheimer’s or dementia. Even after the brain has begun to deteriorate, the potential to fire up those neurons and create new adventures never goes away.

Unsure where to start? Oakwood Creative Care is here to help! Our dementia experts and partners at ALLE Learning have joined together to design an innovative new experience focusing on creative and cognitive stimulation, right from the comfort of your own home. With Engaging at Home, memories and experiences are brought from the past into the present through immersive, age-appropriate experiences meant to help families learn more about their loved ones as they learn and create together. Check out this free creative writing activity to start and access untapped potential for connection and creativity!

Click Here to Download The Creative Writing PDF

Free Activity Download

“Creative Writing”

Refer to the black and white photo on the left and share it with your loved one as the foundation for the story you will create. Take time to look over the photo together, gathering details and building on a narrative for the photo.

Work with your loved one to write your own personalized creative writing piece based around the subject in the photo. You can help to guide them through building the narrative by asking open-ended questions and writing down their responses to formulate the storyline. Ask thought-provoking questions like:

Who are these people?
What are their names?
What are they doing?
Where are they?
How did they get there?
When did this happen?
What will they do after?

As the story builds, take time to stop every few questions to re-read what you have written down. Conversations in between might fall off topic, but that is okay! Use this as an opportunity to learn more about your loved one. Empowering the creative center of the brain encourages moments of memory recall as your loved one looks back into the stories of their own past to find details that might match with the new story you are creating together.

Engaging at Home’s Writers Guild fosters every opportunity for creative expression. We believe every person wants and needs to express themselves because we are all social beings. Through creative writing, every word, expression, or complete sentence belongs in the story and results in an amazing new accomplishment to be celebrated.

With an Engaging At Home membership, participants gain access to a full library of activity materials, Wellness & FItness videos for seniors, engaging and age-appropriate topics, unlimited access to all online materials, and a world of fun for caregivers and families, too.

Click Here to Learn More

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Welcome

We're a nonprofit organization based in Mesa, Arizona with three senior day club locations (and a fourth on the way) which serve older adults with Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's, and various other physical or cognitive challenges. Life does not end with a diagnosis. Our members continue to learn new skills, enjoy new discoveries, make friends, laugh, and live a joy-filled life. Our team of dementia experts lead support groups, events, classes, and private sessions with caregivers and families, guiding them on the best methods to care for their loved ones while also caring for themselves.