This is the case study from the latest campaign from the Alzheimer League Flanders. It is the first organization to be in this area with the idea of Simplified Stories. These are books and novels rewritten for people with dementia. The project was launched with the biography of famous Belgian artist Stromae, and is available in bookstores all over the country.
The simplified series of books are designed to motivate people with early-onset dementia to keep on reading.
“Why? Because it helps,” says the director of the League, Hilde Lamers, “Reading trains both the memory and the use of language.”
People with (early-onset) dementia gradually lose their cognitive abilities. They not only have memory problems but also suffer from language disorders. It means that they often stop reading books. People with (early-onset) dementia can easily lose the thread of a story, forgetting what they read the day before, or the story behind a particular character. It’s very frustrating, so most people stop reading altogether. Despite the fact that reading is the perfect way to train one’s memory and retain language skills.
The Alzheimer League developed the idea in cooperation with the regional expert dementia centre, Paradox and Professor Sebastian Engelborghs (University of Antwerp).
Partner: Uitgeverij Borgerhoff-Lamberigts
Production: Thinkfish Media
Agency: DDB Brussels
Account Team: Silvie Erzeel, Anneleen Vande Voorde
Creative Director: Peter Ampe, Odin Saille
Art: Tim & Stefan
Copy: Bart Van Goethem
Graphic Design: Marlène Wautot
PR: Kenn Van Lijsebeth
Photography: Adam Kozlowski
