This week on Health Watch, we’re talking about finding good gifts for all the people on your holiday list. If someone you care about is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, one of the best gifts you can give that person and the people who care for him or her is your time.

Peggy Higgins, education director for the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says a wonderful gift for a caregiver would be to find someone else to watch the patient for a while, and then take the caregiver to lunch or shopping. When visiting an Alzheimer’s disease patient, call ahead to make sure it’s a good time, and plan your visit to last no more than an hour. Patients may enjoy listening to music from their youth and sorting activities with photos, buttons or pieces of cloth. Don’t limit your visits to the holiday season. This is something patients and caregivers need year-round.

Visit http://www.utsouthwestern.org/geriatrics to learn more about UT Southwestern’s clinical services in geriatrics.