All Home Care Matters and our host, Lance A. Slatton were honored to welcome Brenda Freed as guest to the show.
About Brenda Freed:
Brenda Freed, MA, is the co-founder of Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer’s, a Family-centered educational program created to help children, parents, caregivers, and families better understand Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. With a background in music Education and music Therapy, Brenda brings a compassionate, creative, and accessible approach to helping families stay connected with loved ones throughout the dementia journey.
Through Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer’s, Brenda helps provide meaningful tools, videos, music, activities, and guidance designed to make difficult conversations easier for children and families. Her work reflects a deep commitment to education, connection, and helping families create positive moments with loved ones living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.
About Mackenzie Meet Alzheimer’s:
The Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer’s Program (MMAP) is a family-centered, multimedia educational program designed to help parents, children, educators, and healthcare professionals navigate the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease.
Created especially for families in the “sandwich generation,” it provides practical tools, guidance, and meaningful activities that support positive interactions between children and loved ones living with Alzheimer’s from diagnosis through the severe stage. The program helps children and their families stay meaningfully connected throughout the journey.
At the heart of the program is the Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer’s Awareness Program (MMAAP), a 5-video educational series covering each stage of the disease, along with guidance for adults raising children while Caregiving.
The program also includes a quick reference guide, transcripts, and accessible audio and visual resources to support a wide range of learning needs. Importantly, the MMAAP helps children understand Alzheimer’s in age-appropriate ways and gives them simple, meaningful activities they can do with their loved one to maintain connection and nurture the relationship.
Complementing the video series is the Mackenzie Meets Alzheimer’s Disease Picture Book, a gentle, child-friendly introduction to Alzheimer’s. The book follows a young girl learning how to understand and connect with her grandmother as the disease progresses. It includes a QR code for a free Story Song download whose lyrics are the text for the book—making the learning experience engaging, memorable, and accessible for young children and early readers.
The complete MMAP is also a valuable resource for Adult Day Centers and Memory Care Communities, offering a ready-to-run educational program for families. It helps answer common questions proactively, reducing the need for staff to repeatedly provide the same explanations.
This allows them to focus more on care and connection.
Together, the program and book go beyond education—they empower families to create meaningful moments, maintain connection, and build positive memories throughout the course of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
