Mother-daughter duo tackles dementia head-on

New business provides products, insight to help caregivers work with seniors.
Mother-daughter duo tackles dementia head-on
Alyssa Zehr and Lisa Schilthuis are designing products for caregivers to engage with seniors with memory loss, helping them build connections and keep their minds active. <strong> Courtesy GrandMinds </strong>

A mother-daughter duo is helping change the conversation around dementia care.

GrandMinds LLC, owned by Lisa Schilthuis (mother) and Alyssa Zehr (daughter), recently won the Michigan Women Forward 53 Voices Challenge pitch competition, which attracted 400 applicants.

Schilthuis and Zehr both are occupational therapists, and their passion for the senior community they work with inspired them to start GrandMinds in December 2021. GrandMinds had been brewing between the pair for a while, as they worked with seniors with dementia and identified their unique needs. When they were ready, they launched their small business to meet those needs with thoughtfully designed products.

“Just seeing people with dementia (who) we know, we slowly had the idea of products that would be good to do this (with). And then it slowly turned into, ‘We could actually make this as a product.’ And so, then we said ‘Oh, maybe we should just kind of try to start our own business.’ Then it kind of took off from (there),” said Schilthuis. “It’s really just seeing the need for so long.”

GrandMinds currently produces activity books, journals, puzzles and building kits for seniors to engage with, helping them stay active mentally.

Schilthuis’ mother has dementia and often appears alongside her daughter and granddaughter in promotional photos and the informational videos the pair posts on social media, including Instagram and Tiktok.

“My grandma (has had) dementia for so long and she lives in an assisted living facility, and I worked at that assisted living facility for a couple years while I was in school,” Zehr said. “You see a lot of people with dementia (and) they just sit around all day and family members do try, but they’re not trying the right techniques or what they’re doing is too hard.”

Zehr’s grandmother has had dementia for 18 years, according to Schilthuis. Watching her experience the process of going into a senior living facility and then experience the therapy and medical appointments with that diagnosis, Schilthuis said she began to notice deficits in care that she knew could be filled.

“Being an occupational therapist, I have learned what strategies work for people with dementia, what helps them to smile and brings joy to their life,” she said. “(I’ve) developed a passion through all that and want to bring that to other people and help other caregivers of people with dementia and also people in assisted living. So (we) just want to educate people, but also find opportunities to bring joy to people that have dementia.”

With this in mind, GrandMinds’ products are designed to be difficult enough to be challenging to a senior, but simple enough that they can complete it without fear of failure, which, according to Schilthuis, is one of the main things that can hold older people back from pursuing some activities.

Finding activities that fall into this category can be difficult and overwhelming for families or caregivers, so many seniors are left without the stimulation they need to maintain active, healthy brains.

“People with dementia, they kind of sit in front of the TV for most of their day, and family members don’t know how to talk to them, or people in assisted living facilities don’t know what to do with them or how to talk to them. So that’s kind of where the idea came from,” Zehr said. “It is sad seeing people just sit in front of the TV who are depressed, who are lonely, who don’t engage in the world. There are other things that you can try. There are definitely techniques to use to help engage somebody with dementia and help them to live a happy, full life.”

Most of GrandMinds’ products also include a letter to the caregiver, telling them how to make the activity easier or harder and tips for doing the activity with seniors.

It is this emphasis on care and compassion for both seniors and caretakers that Alexis Dishman thinks won the duo the challenge.

“One of the things that stood out to me is that while they are making money and earning from this great business, it really does have kind of a mission, a social impact portion of the business really helping and supporting seniors,” said Dishman, chief lending officer at Michigan Women Forward “So I thought just from the social impact perspective, it was very unique, and certainly timely.”

The 53 Voices Challenge, sponsored by Fifth Third Bank, requires entrants to submit a 53-second video and a one-page paper explaining their business concept or idea and why it is worth investing in.

Dishman said GrandMinds was a refreshing addition to this year’s competition.

“It’s great to see a mother/daughter duo,” she said. “And I just thought it was a great, great business idea. They (also) did a good job with their pitch in the video, talking about their business concepts and why it was important to them.”

For GrandMinds, the $7,500 win was unexpected encouragement.

“(It has) been crazy,” said Schilthuis. “(We) just started the business in December. Never would we ever think that we’d win a grant competition. It seems like it just happened so fast.”

Going forward, the pair aims to increase their product line and eventually expand their services.

“We only sell a couple products right now,” Schilthuis said. “We’d like to be able to create more products that target other areas of dementia. And we want to do consulting, being dementia partners for people. That’s what we’re working toward and what we’re going to use the money for.

“There are a lot of families out there struggling and they actually don’t know where to turn. So we would like to be available for consultation for caregivers of people with dementia. The step after that is probably in the area of educating other medical professionals on how to do therapy with people with dementia. But I think our primary step is to increase our product line so we’re able to reach more of a variety of people and then different types of products depending on what the person is interested in. So not just puzzles, but workbooks, crafts, games, a variety of things so there’s something for everyone.”

For now, the pair is focused on helping spread the word that dementia should not be a barrier to caregivers and seniors enjoying quality time together.

“The main focus of our business really is showing people that there’s joy in dementia,” Zehr said. “You can still make memories with them. You can still include them in all family activities and have pleasant times with them. I feel like when people think of dementia, it’s not necessarily positive. You can still have good memories with them and still keep them involved.”

This story can be found in the Dec. 12 issue of the Grand Rapids Business Journal. To get more stories like this delivered to your mailbox, subscribe here.