The Importance of Stuffed Animals in Memory Care

(NEW YORK) – Alzheimer’s disease is tragic.

It is also increasingly common. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, COVID led to a 17 percent increase in Alzheimer’s deaths. Presently, more than 6 million Americans have the disease.

My grandmother, Amy Shimkus, was one of those 6 million patients. She struggled with the disease for the past decade and passed last month. 

During her time at a memory care facility, Shimkus found a lot of solace in a popular tool in memory care facilities: stuffed animals.

“Stuffed animals are very common for us, along with baby dolls,” Carl Picioccio – an Alzheimer’s engagement coach at the Welsey Community – said. “They offer our folks with dementia a tactile sensory engagement. They also have a lot of reminiscent value.”

According to Picioccio, having a stuffed animal or doll brings back positive memories for dementia patients. If the patient had a positive relationship with a pet prior to their injuries, the stuffed animals can ease anxiety and boost a patient’s mood.

[Photo Credit: Tracy Cheifetz] Amy Shimkus holds her dog, RBI, on a walk with family members.

Family members would frequently find food stuck in the fur of her stuffed animals – suggesting she had been trying to feed them. It spoke to many of us as a relic of her giving nature. It also shows how the disease had anthropomorphized the stuffed animals in her mind.

In my grandmother’s memory, the family has started a stuffed animal donation drive in her memory.