DENVER, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- While the number of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia cases continues to rise at an alarming rate, a new line of innovative media products designed to help connect, entertain and stimulate people with the disease has been introduced by The Memory Lane Company. Company principals include the founders and key former executives of The Baby Einstein Company, now owned by Disney(R).
The innovative Memory Lane(TM) videos, music CDs and Memory Books are specifically designed to help bring more joy to the estimated 4.5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease and another four million living with related forms of dementia. Those numbers are expected to triple over the next four decades, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Equally important, Memory Lane products provide caregivers with much- needed relief from their typically demanding day-to-day tasks and serve as interactive tools to help reconnect caregivers, family, and friends with those who have the disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association three-quarters of people with Alzheimer’s disease live at home, where family and friends provide a majority of their care.
Memory Lane’s founders are among the millions of American families searching for resources and information that may help relieve some of the emotional and physical stress of caregiving. Many people also are looking for ways to maintain or increase the social and emotional connection with their loved one. A recent study by the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Alliance for Caregiving reported that 74 percent of dementia caregivers had unmet needs as a result of their often demanding role, including such things as finding more time for themselves, managing emotional and physical stress and finding easy activities to do with the person they care for.
Combining what they know from their personal experiences with family members living with Alzheimer’s and the results of scientific research, the founders of Memory Lane are creating media products designed from the point- of-view of people with the disease.
“Our products help people with Alzheimer’s find comfort and pleasure in their memories, and reflect the latest research and understanding of how those with dementia see, hear, and make sense of their world,” said Memory Lane President, Jeff Mettais. “We’ve combined our personal understanding with our expertise in developing products for a special needs audience to create a product that addresses the social and emotional needs of people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. We know that people with Alzheimer’s have a rich history of memories and life experiences that can be tapped into given the right mix of audio and visual stimulation.”
The company’s first video, Family, features a nostalgic look at the milestones of family life, including marriage, children, holidays and graduation.
“Our on-screen ‘companion’ gently connects with viewers and guides them on an audio-visual stroll filled with nostalgic music and images intended to evoke pleasant memories and emotions,” said Mettais.
Future products in the multi-sensory, patent-pending system will focus on other common life experiences and can be used as stand-alone pieces or in conjunction with the accompanying music CDs and Memory Books.
People with Alzheimer’s disease find the often cluttered, fast-paced style of traditional television programming and movies confusing to the eye, ear and mind. Memory Lane video programs offer easy to follow, bite-sized visual segments combined with nostalgic music -- all presented at an appropriate pace.
“During the mild and moderate stages of Alzheimer’s, many important abilities, such as long-term memory, remain relatively unaffected,” said Memory Lane Vice President, Brian Raffety, Ph.D. “Our products make the most of those retained abilities while avoiding dependence on areas of brain function that have often begun to decline.”
Memory Lane products, ideal for use in private homes, assisted living facilities, adult day care centers, hospitals, clinics, hospices, and nursing homes, are available to be previewed and purchased via the company’s Web site, http://www.memorylanemedia.com/ or via telephone, 1-877-9-MEMORY (877-963-6679).
The president of The Memory Lane Company, Jeff Mettais, is a former executive vice president of The Baby Einstein Company and an accomplished entrepreneur in the specialty publishing field. Bill Clark, co-founder of Baby Einstein with his wife Julie Aigner-Clark, serves as a director of Memory Lane, overseeing product development and assisting with strategic planning and brand development. With her proven vision, expertise and accomplishments in creating multi-media products for special-needs audiences, Julie Aigner-Clark is creative consultant for Memory Lane. Brian Raffety, Ph.D. conducts professional outreach and research for Memory Lane, while Mark Burr, an award- winning videographer and editor who was an integral player in the production of numerous, highly successful Baby Einstein videos, is responsible for Memory Lane’s video production.
The Memory Lane Company
CONTACT: Marty Schechter, +1-303-987-8163, Saul Rosenthal,+1-303-748-4815, both for The Memory Lane Company
Web site: http://www.memorylanemedia.com/