I never thought I’d leave a successful career in television production to create sensory tools for people who can’t always speak for themselves. But life has a way of handing you a script you didn’t write.
When my mom was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, everything changed. She was still walking and talking, but she was also hallucinating, falling, confused, and—at times—aggressive. But mostly, she was scared.
And so was I.
The Moment that Changed Everything
Medications weren’t helping. In fact, they hospitalized her multiple times.
TV and iPads couldn’t hold her attention.
Our visits became painful. She couldn’t follow a conversation, and I didn’t know what to do with my own mother. I'd cry when I left.
Then, one day, I handed her a cut down silicone potholder—something soft, safe to hold, squish, and explore. She calmed down.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, she looked at me... and smiled.
Finding the Gap
That moment changed everything. I searched everywhere for tools like that—products that were dignified, safe to mouth, easy to clean, and didn’t look like children’s toys.
I found nothing.
So I made them myself.
Geri-Gadgets® wasn’t born from a business plan. It came from necessity. From love.
From wanting people with cognitive challenges to have something they could safely and meaningfully engage with—even if they couldn’t speak, remember, or explain what they liked.
Rethinking Communication
We often think connection requires memory, language, or recognition. But it doesn’t.
A touch. A smile. A calm body. A spark of engagement.
Those are moments. And they matter.
Because even if the memory fades, the feeling remains.
What I've Learned
I’ve learned that people with dementia are not “too far gone” to enjoy life.
That the right tools can unlock calm, joy, and even shared laughter.
That sensory needs don’t disappear with age.
And that caregivers—family or professional—need support, not just instructions.
So Let Me Ask...
Would you yell at someone with cancer because you’re overwhelmed by their illness?
Would you dismiss a child in a wheelchair as not worth investing in?
Then why do we act like people with dementia are invisible?
Why do we visit less?
Why do we assume they can’t feel joy, meaning, or connection?
Yes, caregiving is hard. You have every right to feel grief and exhaustion.
But let’s not take that out on the person living with the disease.
Let’s adapt.Let’s show up.
Let’s meet them where they are.
Why I Built Geri-Gadgets®
I created Geri-Gadgets® so others wouldn’t have to feel helpless the way I did.
So no one else would have to stare into the eyes of someone they love, feeling like there’s nothing they can do.
Because there is something you can do.
Connection is Not Pointless
Every moment we create with someone—no matter their diagnosis—has the power to matter.
So let’s stop waiting for the perfect words.Let’s start making moments.
Because they deserve them.
And so do we.
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