Burnley man's colouring books helping elderly and vulnerable during lockdown

Neil Floyd, whose mother Jacqueline (80) has Alzheimer's, had always had a keen interest in colouring, which prompted him to develop a colouring book as part of a university project.

He is now hoping this will help elderly and vulnerable people struggling during the coronavirus lockdown.

Neil said: "My mum still lives in her own bungalow where she is settled and receives support from her family and carers. She has always had a keen interest in colouring, but over the last year or so colouring has become far more than a hobby or past-time, it’s become a life-line. Colouring is helping her to continue to live independently in her own home.

"Being mum's primary carer, I spend approximately 72 hours a week with her, over the last six months I’ve noticed that my mum's dementia has progressed rapidly.

"However, she continues to help me to develop activities, books and resources. I’m always learning new ideas from her, sometimes I discover that the readability or the images of the books are not quite right."

Neil's late father Samuec also loved colouring. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and dementia in his later years, but shortly before he died encouraged Neil to enrol onto an illustration course at Blackburn University Centre.

This then led to the development of a unique colouring book specifically designed for people who live with dementia. The book was ground-breaking and received nationwide interest.

"After I left university in 2017, I set-up a small social enterprise company called My Colourful Memories C.I.C.whicht provides art health workshops in the local community," Neil added.

"My mum recently helped me to create a Home Activity Pack which was developed for a project, supported by the (HRVCVS) and the (Eric Wright Trust). The resource is completely Free and is intended for Carers, Families and People with a Diagnosis of Dementia to use.

"The resource is a COVID-19 initiative and is intended to reduce loneliness, isolation and anxiety for people living with dementia during the lockdown.

"Being an illustrator, I am able to create personalised colouring pictures for my mum to colour-in, I’ve created around a dozen of these for her. This helps to create conversation around her colouring, many of these have led to new conversations and stories from her early years."

Anyone interested in the packs can access a free download available at: www.mycolourfulmemories.co.uk/activity-pack/