Loretta Veney's Mom

Loretta Veney had been building LEGO with her mom for decades. And even after her mom was diagnosed with dementia, their love of LEGO kept them together.

Today’s guests: the wonderful Loretta Veney! Loretta is an inspirational speaker, author, and LEGO Serious Play facilitator. Her mom was diagnosed with dementia in 2006, and in the years after, through the highs and the lows of the disease, LEGO would help ground her mother.

Here are a few links if you want to see more of Loretta:

• Read about Loretta’s mom and LEGOs here.
• WCVE PBS did a wonderful documentary with Loretta and other caregivers and you can see them in action (around 15:30).
• Loretta’s book: Being My Mom’s Mom

Loretta is such a jolt of positivity; I feel honored to share her story.

For Clutch Power supporters, you’ll hear a bonus segment with Natalia Kasperovich. Natalis runs Bricks for Better Brains and ran a study about the relationship between people living with dementia and LEGO. It’s really interesting stuff.

I have experience working with people with dementia and they are often treated like children, so it’s super important to give them agency whenever possible. I love that Natalia’s work is doing that!

You’ll also get access to a MOC I built just for this episode! It’s a portrait of Loretta’s mom, Doris. I hope it does her justice.

It’s $2 / month to become a Clutch Power supporter, and you’ll get bonus content + a MOC for every episode!

• Join the Patreon!

All music by Nihilore (www.nihilore.com):

• Alter Ego
• Nonexistent
• The Water and the Well
• Garden
• Escape
• Aquamarine, My Distant Blue