About us - Developing our unique range of activities for Dementia
"Ben's Alzheimer's care solutions touched a chord in my heart, remembering the frustration that my mother experienced"
Dids Macdonald
CEO of Acid

In 2007 there were over 700,000 people in the UK suffering from Dementia. According to Alzheimer’s Society figures, this is set to rise to over one million by 2020.

Personal experience with my grandfather showed me there was a real lack of suitable activities for people who, like him, suffer from Alzheimer’s. This means that families and care homes usually resort to children's games as entertainment e.g. colouring-in books and 3+ jigsaw puzzles. These are often too difficult and incorporate inappropriate images that are very patronising. As a result many residents are left in armchairs around the room with nothing to do. It is extremely important to keep the mind active to slow the deterioration caused by the disease and give a better quality of life, so this is a real problem.

In response to this, Active Minds started to develop a range of eight unique jigsaw puzzles.  After much research and testing across London’s care homes, Ben’s Puzzles were launched in 2009. The puzzles use a unique background along with large irregular pieces that help users complete the puzzles unassisted. My grandfather, who was previously unable to complete a 3+ puzzle, managed to complete Ben’s Puzzles without any help in 15 minutes, providing him with a huge amount of satisfaction and pride.

The response from the care community was huge and Ben’s Puzzles are now selling across Europe and North America with great feedback. Users include private individuals as well as large organisations such as the NHS and Age Concern.

Due to fantastic demand, and assisted by sponsorship from Barchester Healthcare, Active Minds has launched its second product called Aquapaint. Using only water, a paintbrush and the unique Aquapaint mat, the user is able to paint colourful pictures with no mess. This proved to be an extremely engaging activity, which during testing was achievable by a large variety of people.

Active Minds is continually refining its products and trying to make them available to the thousands of people who could benefit.