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Toys As Language Stimuli For Individuals With Alzheimer’S Disease, Cassandra M. Baer

Masters Theses

The study of the use of toys with institutionalized adults began in the field of gerontological nursing (Bailey, Gilbert, & Herweyer, 1992; Francis & Baly, 1986; Mayers & Griffin, 1990; Milton & MacPhail, 1985). Hopper, Bayles, and Tomoeda (1998) described the comforting qualities of plush animals for people with dementia and began to explore the effects of these toys on the language production of women with Alzheimer's Disease. Women were found to produce more information in fewer words when the toys were present.

This study builds on the work of Hopper et al. (1998), comparing language productions of two men …