Giving Alzheimer's Patients Baby Dolls as a Form of Therapy

Pearl's Memory Babies, a Kentucky-based nonprofit group, has donated more than 300 baby dolls to Alzheimer's patients in Indiana and Kentucky as a form of therapy, reports Insider . Doll therapy is believed to help ease anxiety among patients with Alzheimer's, and it has been used across the United States and internationally in the past. Pearl's Memory Babies founder Sandy Cambron said her mother-in-law showed positive emotion around her baby doll, and suggested that dolls can "bring back some kind of nice memory" for people with Alzheimer's. Ruth Drew, director of information and support services for the Alzheimer's Association, said that anecdotal evidence suggests doll therapy can help calm agitation and promote social engagement among people with Alzheimer's. But some critics argue that baby dolls "infantilize" and demean older adults with memory problems. Stephanie Zeverino, a community relations worker for Belmont Village Senior Living Westwood in Texas, asserts that art, music, and brain games are more appropriate ways to promote critical thinking for people with Alzheimer's.