Operation Santa helps dementia patients play for time via toys

A toy may be more than a plaything for a child. To dementia patients, it could be a way to buffer the invasion of the illness.

And put together in a toy workshop, both the young and old benefit - elderly dementia patients build up their alertness, while the children learn about the debilitating brain condition that includes the commonly known Alzheimer's disease.

The benefits of toy therapy are starting to show in Wong Mei-han, 77, after a year of twice-weekly sessions. Wong's husband Chau Shu-wa, 78, learned from a doctor that her dementia was advancing less severely.

Wong, who has mild to moderate dementia, does not respond well to others and sometimes needs her husband to guide her at the workshop.

"I have been a member of the toy library programme with my wife for around a year," said Chau, who accompanies her to each session, conducted at an elderly centre close to their home. "The doctor says it can slow her brain deterioration."

Now, the Charles K Kao Foundation for Alzheimer's Disease wants to rope in children for the programme in collaboration with the Lutheran Social Service.