Research Backed Community-Based Program Activities For Adults With Dementia

The Reading2Connect Community-Based Program
(Adult Day Centers, Memory Cafés, Senior Centers)

Enhancing Social-Emotional Wellbeing
with Age/Dementia Friendly Books and Employee Training

A Program Derived from Evidence-Based Research

The field of senior care is severely under-estimating and often ignoring the latent, intact capacity to read that most long-term care residents still possess. The methodology of Reading2Connect is based on the proven premise that most people living with dementia can still read to some functional degree.

By bringing to the surface older adults’ deeply rooted ability to read and their lifelong familiarity with books, the Reading2Connect Community-Based Program enriches the lives of older adults cognitively, emotionally, and socially.

Our award-winning, evidenced-based program delivers to community sites:

A Collection of Age Friendly and Dementia Friendly Books
Supporting Materials
Employee/Volunteer Training

With our training, employees learn to apply “Montessori Aging and Dementia” principles to foster older adults' independence and lessen their dependence on staff members.

Reading2Connect provides trainees with the skills and tools to:

Support self-directed, peer reading groups.
Augment events, holidays, and activity themes with related books.
Facilitate large group, resident-led activities, incorporating comedy, trivia, singing, skits, and devotions.
Design volunteer, student, and intergenerational programs based on accessible books.

Age Appropriate and Dementia Appropriate Books

The Reading2Connect Books are designed and constructed to be highly readable and easily managed, while retaining the integrity of adult literature. With modified text and abundant illustrations, our books enable most older adults to read and interact with the books on their own.

The content of our books varies widely from popular topics (e.g., pets, sports, gardening) to culturally specific topics (e.g., Civil Rights, the Korean War, Judaism, Japanese American Story). Reading2Connect is a gentle, affirmative resource to foster diversity and inclusion in the community.

When reading our books with their peers, elders experience self-directed, authentic socialization, requiring minimal staff assistance.

The Reading2Connect Books provide the visual scaffolding needed for aging adults to remember, to express themselves, and to genuinely socially connect with others.

Employees have also reported that older adults feeling distressed or disengaged often respond positively to our books.

Multiple Languages.
Multiple Formats.

The Reading2Connect Books are available in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, and Italian. Our books come in three formats:

Physical books printed on washable, tear-resistant paper for infection control and durability.
eBooks to be shown on a device or large TV screen.
Video Books (in partnership with CareLink360) to be played on a device or TV.

These multiple book formats give employees the tools to meet the individual needs of older adults with a variety of challenges, eg, manual dexterity, physical movement, vision, hearing.

Employee feedback indicates that individuals who have been living with their dementia for many years often enjoy watching and listening to a Video Book with headphones.

Via our course, trainees acquire sustainable, Montessori-based skills, highly applicable in all care and social situations with older adults. Reading2Connect-Certified employees report decreased stress and increased job satisfaction. Older adults demonstrate increased social engagement and positive emotions during and after Reading2Connect activities.

NOTE: Reading2Connect-Certified Communities have free, lifetime access to our online training for future employees. This is critical to ensure that the extensive, positive impacts of Reading2Connect® remain alive and flourishing even with staff turnover.

Videos of Reading2Connect in Action!