By France Poirier
A native of Saint-Jérôme, Marie-Pier Vaudry became a caregiver around fifteen years ago, when her 59-year-old mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
She was looking for activities suitable for her mother and also her father who is a caregiver and who visits her twice a day at the CHSLD.
Five years after the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, Maire-Pier founded Les Éditions Chachacha. Since then, she has created Books adapted to this reality in collaboration with health specialists, such as the volumes Antiwrinkles for neurons and the current series which includes Huguette visits Expo 67 et Arthur and his cars.
Books and games suitable for adults
“My project of games and books for people with Alzheimer’s or neurocognitive disorders began during my visits to my mother. I saw that she had nothing to do. She could no longer read her novels, she could no longer do the word searches she used to do. I started looking for activities for him to do. I looked in libraries and bookstores and I couldn’t find anything that was suitable for adults with neuro-cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease,” Marie-Pier explains in an interview.
Since she only found things for children, she began adapting games for her mother, trying to find easier word searches or crossword puzzles. When it came to reading, she couldn’t find stories.
“It was difficult for my mother. They really were the best children’s books. As she was still conscious, I didn’t want to infantilize her with children’s books,” she explains.
“It’s difficult for loved ones to visit someone with Alzheimer’s. I know it, I live it. »
– Marie-Pier Vaudry
Hidden objectives
In the products she offers, there are always hidden objectives as she says. “When I work with speech therapists, the goal is to maintain language, communication and reading. Through the activity, we know that it will encourage this. The person doing the activity doesn’t realize it, but for the caregiver, it brings a new topic for discussion, a new activity to do,” reports Marie-Pier.
“For example, my mother hardly opens her eyes anymore, she no longer walks. But before, when she was able to do activities, we tried to create things that are culturally significant while improving their daily lives with loved ones. »
A team of experts
Marie-Pier has been working in collaboration with a team that has been growing for nine years. “I am always surrounded by health professionals from the Montreal Geriatric Institute, including speech therapists and neuropsychologists,” she explains.
She works a lot with Alzheimer’s societies across Quebec and day centers like Maison Aloïs in Saint-Jérôme. They test the products with their customers to be sure that we choose the right words, the right images and the right themes so that it speaks to them.
“It’s really work before publication, which makes our creation and publication process longer. Also, they are really validated by health professionals. We review everything, like the choice of words, etc. », Explains the one who is completing a master’s degree in gerontology. “I specialized in aging because I wanted to know more. What makes me proud is that health professionals are recommending my products more and more,” adds Marie-Pier.
Printed in Quebec, the books are distinguished by their carefully chosen themes, evocative color photos, simple words, short sentences, and a friendly font designed for people with cognitive disorders. In addition, readers can visit a web page using a QR code to access additional information intended for caregivers and advice on how to approach reading depending on the situation.
