NEAR ALEXANDRIA, Minn. -- If you know someone with dementia, you might want to consider making them a "fidget quilt" for Christmas.
Fidget quilts, also called sensory blankets, can help calm people with dementia who have restless hands. The lap blankets have different objects sewn onto them to keep hands busy.
"It's something that I did notice with my grandpa. He loves folding things. He will keep folding and folding until it's like the smallest it can be folded," said Emma Sieling, 24, of Alexandria.
Sieling said her grandpa, Dave Dittberner, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease about five years ago.
"We take it one day at a time and it is what it is and it's going to be what we make of it with God's help," said Carol Dittberner, Dave's wife. The couple live in Leaf Valley Township, near Alexandria.
This year, the family celebrated Christmas early. Sieling drew her grandpa's name for the gift exchange.
"I read about the fidget quilts and I thought, 'Well gosh, I guess I have noticed that he does that a lot,'" Sieling said.
Sieling went to her local thrift shop and bought clothes with buttons and zippers for the quilt. She also attached a belt, ribbon and Velcro to some of the pockets. Her grandpa was then able to open the buttons, zipper and Velcro to find pictures of his family.
"Oh, he loves it. He does it every morning. Different parts of it. He has his favorites," Carol said.
There are more than five million Americans living with Alzheimer's, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
Sieling posted a video of her grandpa with the fidget quilt and said about the response, "A lot of people are affected by dementia and Alzheimer's. I was just excited to see this is an idea that other people are thinking about now too. A way to help and to show their loved ones with dementia that they love them and that they care about them."
According to Katie Roberg, program services specialist for the Minnesota-North Dakota chapter of Alzheimer's Association, sensory blankets are also a way people battling the disease can communicate and express themselves through their senses.
The Alzheimer's Association has a free 24/7 Helpline. They typically see a spike in calls during the holidays, with people visiting family they have not seen in a while.
You can also find more gift ideas for people living with Alzheimer's, here.
