If you care for someone with dementia, you probably answer some version of these questions over and over:
“What are we doing today?”
“Who’s coming over?”
“When will you be back?”
“What are we having for dinner?”
“What time is my appointment?”
You answer. A few minutes later, they ask again.
So you remind them again. You leave notes. You update the calendar. You make another phone call. You explain what’s happening one more time.
After a while, it can feel like a big part of your day goes to helping your loved one remember information their brain can no longer reliably hold onto.
Careblazers in our support rooms kept bringing up a tool called Memory Board. So I tried it myself, and then I sat down with its founder, Tyler Zannini, to talk about it.
Tyler created Memory Board after his grandmother was diagnosed with vascular dementia. As her dementia progressed, it got harder and harder for his family to keep her updated, help her keep track of her day, and stay connected with her.
So they started with a simple question:
Could the important information live somewhere she could see it, instead of depending on her to remember what someone told her?
That question became Memory Board. But our conversation kept coming back to a bigger idea, one that applies whether you use a digital tool, a whiteboard, a calendar, or a sticky note:
Sometimes the solution isn’t helping someone remember more. It’s making the information easier to find again.
Why repeating yourself isn’t enough
When your loved one asks the same question again, it’s hard not to think:
“But I just told you.”
And you did.
The problem is that hearing information and holding onto it are two different things.
If your loved one’s memory is impaired, telling them at 9:00 that you’ll be home at 11:00 doesn’t mean that answer will still be there at 9:20. (I go deeper into why in this post on repeated questions.)
So saying it more clearly, more loudly, or more often won’t fix the real problem. The better question is:
Can I put this information somewhere they can find it again, without having to remember our conversation?
That might be a paper calendar. A whiteboard. A note beside the door. A picture. Or a digital display.
The best option is the one your loved one notices, understands, and actually uses.
Why a visual reminder takes pressure off both of you
What stood out to me about Memory Board is that it doesn’t ask the person with dementia to operate another piece of technology.
The display stays in the home, plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi. Family members use an app on their phones to change what’s on the screen.
Tyler put it simply:
“At its core, Memory Board is about simplicity and ease of use.”
The person looking at the board doesn’t open an app, type anything, charge anything, or find their way through a menu.
They just look at it.
That matters, because many people with dementia can still use information in their surroundings long after learning a new device has become too hard.
It can be about more than appointments
When people hear “reminder,” they think calendars and appointments. Those help. But Tyler shared a few other ways families use it that I found especially useful.
Show what’s happening today
Some families put the important parts of the day on the board:
“Lunch at 12:00.”
“Mary is visiting at 2:00.”
“Doctor appointment at 3:30.”
“John will pick you up.”
Tyler says families often tell him their loved one goes to more activities in their senior living community once the schedule is on the board.
One family put a concert in the community center on their mom’s board. She saw it, went downstairs, got called up to perform with the band, and was so happy she’d known about it.
Sometimes the right information at the right time helps someone take part in their own life.
Use photos to add context
This was one of my favorite ideas from the interview.
Say your friend Susan is coming to visit. Writing “Susan is coming at 2:00” may not be enough if your loved one no longer connects the name to the person.
Instead, put up Susan’s photo with a line like:
“Susan is coming to visit this afternoon. You and Susan have been friends for many years.”
Tyler told me families do exactly this before a visitor arrives, so the visit feels a little more familiar and a little less anxious.
You don’t need a Memory Board for this. A printed photo next to a written note can do the same thing.
The reminder doesn’t have to come from you
Tyler told me about a daughter whose parents both use the board. She told him they argue less now, because they’re not arguing about the schedule anymore. It’s on the board.
She was half joking. But there’s something real in it.
The tone changes when the reminder isn’t coming from a spouse or an adult child. Instead of “Remember, I told you we’re leaving at 2:00,” the information is just there: “We’re leaving at 2:00.”
That small shift can cut down the back and forth that happens when one person feels like they’re always reminding, and the other feels like they’re always being corrected.
A board won’t end every disagreement. But letting the room carry some of the information can take pressure off the relationship.
Think beyond reminders
As we talked, I started thinking about other ways to use this.
If you’re working on a regular toileting routine, a short message on the board at set times can do the prompting, instead of you saying it every time. You could even add a photo of the bathroom if that makes it clearer.
The same idea works for:
- Meals
- Activities
- When you’ll be back
- Who is visiting
- What’s happening later in the day
- Simple, reassuring messages
And it doesn’t have to be all instructions. Families send pictures, jokes, vacation updates, and short messages from the rest of the family.
A board shouldn’t turn into a running list of everything your loved one has to do. It can hold a little joy, too.
Keep it to what matters most
Near the end of our conversation, Tyler made a point that goes well beyond Memory Board.
Most of us are buried in information. Texts. Notifications. Emails. Calendar alerts.
For someone with dementia, too much information is even harder to process.
Tyler described the goal as the “two to three important things” someone needs to know today.
So whatever you use, resist filling every inch of it. Ask yourself:
What are the two or three things my loved one needs to know right now?
What if their dementia is more advanced?
I asked Tyler this directly: is there a point where someone’s dementia is too advanced for something like this to help?
His answer: families vary a lot.
He told me about a family who bought a Memory Board without knowing whether their loved one could still read. Within about a week, he was asking them where the day’s schedule was. They hadn’t realized he was reading it at all.
Tyler was also clear that it doesn’t work for everyone.
That’s the right way to think about any dementia strategy. Don’t decide what someone can do based on their stage or diagnosis. Watch what actually happens.
Do they notice it? Do they look at it? Does it make sense to them? Does it help, or does it add confusion?
Your loved one’s response is the best information you have.
What stood out when I tried it
I tried Memory Board myself before I talked with Tyler.
What stood out most was how simple the caregiver side is. Changing a message takes seconds. If you can send a text, you can update the board.
You can schedule messages ahead of time and set them to repeat, so a weekly appointment only goes in once. If plans change, you update it from wherever you are.
Your loved one doesn’t have to do any of that. They just see the new information.
That split is what I find most useful. One person manages the technology. The other just gets the information.
If that sounds like it could help at your house, there’s a Careblazers promo code waiting for you. We earn a small commission if you buy through our link, at no extra cost to you. , and look for the code in the pop-up.
The bigger lesson
You don’t need to buy anything to use what came out of this conversation.
If your loved one keeps asking for the same information, you may be asking their memory to do something it can’t reliably do anymore. So ask yourself:
Can I put the answer somewhere they can find it again?
There isn’t one tool that works for every person with dementia. But moving information out of memory and into the room can make the day easier for both of you.
And sometimes that means fewer conversations spent repeating the schedule, and a little more room for the ones that feel like connection.
Watch my full conversation with Tyler
If you’d like to learn more about Memory Board, here’s our link. If you buy through it, Careblazers earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Learn more about Memory Board HERE
When you visit through this link, look for the pop-up with a Careblazers promo code.
