| Q&A with Geri-Gadgets Founder Angela Fairhurst
Angela Fairhurst founded Geri-Gadgets to help care providers foster calm, independence, and connection for adults with dementia. The sensory tools also support connection with neurodivergent communities. Made with food-grade “safe touch” silicone, the colorful, low-tech shapes promote comfort and calm engagement. We spoke to Fairhurst about her journey. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you come to this work?
I was a television producer for over 30 years, an executive in charge of production. That’s what made me a problem-solver. I was determined to find a way to reach my mom. It took four years to figure out she had a sensory need, and that the answer was in silicone: virtually indestructible, mouth-safe, dishwasher-safe.
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She had Lewy body dementia, originally misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s. She was overmedicated seven different times, with seven hospitalizations and bad reactions to antipsychotics — a wild ride. I say desperation is the mother of invention. Geri-Gadgets started when I cut down a potholder and threw it back and forth with her, and she came to life. It was so magical and profound that it became the beginning of the company. Now we’re in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK, and on Amazon and Shopify — just trying to get it into as many hands as possible.
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We’re hearing so much about age tech, robots, and AI these days. Why is Geri-Gadgets different?
Geri-Gadgets are purposely not tech. My mom couldn’t use tech — she wasn’t even capable of using the remote any longer, or watching TV, or getting on a Zoom call. That’s the whole idea behind Geri-Gadgets: you can use them just by touch. No matter what technology does, it’s never going to replace human touch.
I like to say there are three things we really need in life: food and water — we know we’ll die if we don’t get those quickly enough — but we also need exercise, and we need human interaction and touch to maintain a healthy life. It’s really important.
Tell me about the train-the-trainer program for skilled nursing facilities.
Civil monetary penalties are a great opportunity that a lot of innovators in healthcare don’t know about. Each state enforces a different amount of penalties when a skilled nursing facility is out of compliance, and that creates an opportunity for grants. Geri-Gadgets built an engagement program around that, including Train the Trainer. We use a ratio of one kit for every eight people, and it’s not just about activity sessions.
It’s really about the people who get left out — the bed-bound, people who don’t participate, people who are agitated or unresponsive. The program teaches caregivers how to bring them to life: calming techniques, connection, no matter what. I use the acronym DARE — Don’t Argue, React, or Explain. It’s not about the caregiver being right. It’s about the person you’re caring for having quality of life and a moment that’s special to them.
The silicone we use is the synthetic material that most closely resembles skin. That touch releases dopamine, and the positive chemicals of serotonin and oxytocin — the hug and love chemicals — can last a couple of days. Someone visiting might only have 15 minutes and think, “I shouldn’t bother.” They should bother, because those 15 minutes can shape somebody’s mood and behavior for days. The program also helps with caregiver burnout — when you feel like you’re making a difference, it opens your heart.
You mentioned a research partnership with Stanford. What are you hoping to learn?
There’s a lot of real-life proof that Geri-Gadgets work, but people always ask what the science is behind it. Beyond the silicone already being the closest material to skin, I want to prove the efficacy and scalability — that it’s possible for anybody to use them. There’s physiology behind the mood change too, whether it’s calming agitation or bringing someone back to life, so we’ll be looking at ECG, video, and biofeedback. We’re starting with mild cognitive impairment and working outward. If health insurance, flexible spending account, or health savings account coverage starts picking this up, it becomes more sustainable and accessible for everybody.
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