Activities To Help Dementia Patients

September 29, 2022

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Do Activities Matter For A Person In The Later Stages Of Dementia

3 Activities for Dementia Patients that Stop “I Want to Go Home”

It can be easy to assume that when a person is no longer communicating with words or is spending much of their day in bed, the emphasis will be on keeping the person physically comfortable and activities become less relevant. However, a person in the advanced stages of dementia can still experience emotions such as loneliness, boredom or frustration.

A person might no longer be able to move independently or hold a conversation. However, many people with dementia will respond positively to close one-to-one attention using the eyes to communicate or hands to touch and make a connection.

Nearly all the external things, the ones we take for granted and which the world values, may be swept away, but the real Malcolm, the essence he was born with, was there right to the end.

Barbara Pointon cared for her husband Malcolm, who had dementia

For more on these ideas, you might like to look at the feature on Communication in the later stages in the section on Communicating well.

Creative Activities For Dementia Patients

#1: Paint

Creating art provides the opportunity for individual expression and may improve memory.

If you’re worried that allowing a dementia patient to paint may be messy, you may be right. Try using butcher paper, so your loved one doesn’t have to worry about making a mess and you dont have to worry about clean-up.

#2: Make a Memory Box

Assemble a box of items that are special to your loved one.

You can include things like:

Special mementos
Items that remind the patient of past professions, such as:
Paperclips, a calculator, and a notepad for a secretary or
Bolts, sandpaper, and a piece of PVC pipe for a handyman and

Items related to favorite hobbies

Activities Can Give Relaxation And Pleasure

A person with dementia may enjoy an outing, even if they do not remember where they have been. What is important is that the moment is enjoyed, even though the experience may be soon forgotten.Simple and unhurried activities are best. Give the time and space necessary to allow the person to do as much as possible. Focus on one thing at a time. Communicate one instruction at a time. Break down activities into simple, manageable steps.

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Tips For Getting Started With At

Now that you know some of the best activities for dementia patients, its time to get started. But where do you begin? Lets see

Talk to your loved ones doctor. Your loved one may receive some specific recommendations from them.

Start small. Dont try to do too much at once. Just like with anything else, starting slowly will make it more likely that your loved one will stick with the activities.

Make it a routine. Try to schedule the activities at the same time each day so your loved one can start to look forward to them.

Be creative. There are tons of different activities that you can do at home to keep your loved one engaged and interested. Discover what works for them and be creative.

Stay positive. It can be frustrating when your loved one is no longer able to do the things they used to enjoy, but its important to stay positive and keep encouraging them.

Talk With A Senior Living Advisor

Our advisors help 300,000 families each year find the right senior care for their loved ones.

Fold laundryLaundry is a familiar activity for most seniors, especially women. Soft fabrics and a repeated motion can be calming. Plus, classic detergent smells may elicit comforting memories. Start with easy items like hand towels and T-shirts. Avoid items like fitted sheets and buttoned shirts that could be challenging.

Simulate handy tasksIf your aging relative always loved to tinker, suggest a project with visible results. Painting wooden boards and fitting together PVC pipes are good activities for seniors with high motor function. Wooden or plastic play tools provide a similar experience for people with more advanced dementia.

Untie knotsTie loose knots along a thick rope. The elderly person may enjoy untying them, though avoid making the knots too tight or using a rough rope.

Do a puzzlePick a puzzle with large, tactile pieces. Wooden color or shape puzzles help with matching and are fail-safe.

Outdoor Activities For Dementia Patients

Visit a therapeutic garden. These provide walking paths, bird feeders accessible to those in wheelchairs, and sturdy furniture for older adults. Gardens provide a safe environment to reconnect with nature, get a little exercise and absorb some vitamin D. – Activities for People with Alzheimer’s Disease, AARP Twitter: @AARP

Start a simple garden. Gardening provides a little physical activity. It allows seniors with dementia to grow and eat their fruits and vegetables. Used raised beds, so seniors dont have to bend over. The beds should be narrow to prevent too much reaching, the pathway should be broad and clear of any debris. Make sure there are some benches and chairs available to sit and relax. – Outdoor Activities for Seniors with Dementia 7 Fun Ideas, Applewood Our House Twitter: @ApplewoodHome

Visit a fruit farm. If you live in an area with lots of local agriculture, you might be able to take advantage of pick-your-own fruit farms. Picking your own fruit whether those fruits are apples, strawberries, raspberries, or another variety offers the benefits of exercise, the outdoor, and stocking up on healthy foods. – Outdoor Activities for Seniors & Caregivers, Visiting Angels Twitter: @_VisitingAngels

Activities For Dementia Patients: How To Do Them And How They Help

When you are a caregiver for someone with dementia, life can seem bleak at times, both for you and for them. Activities for dementia patients can relieve stress and make the days go a little easier. They can bring you closer together, but they can benefit the person with dementia in many other ways, too. All you need is a little free time, a few props, and the right attitude to plan and supervise helpful activities.

Benefits Of Dementia Activities

Dementia activities serve a variety of purposes. While you are supervising, it is important to keep in mind that these activities are more than just time-killers. They are a way to lighten up and relax, but they are so much more. As you engage the senior with dementia, focus on the benefit they may receive.

Help Them Sleep Better

Activities for people with dementia give them a time to move around, challenge their bodies and their minds, and maybe even get some fresh air. They are not so difficult that they aggravate medical conditions like arthritis which might lead to nighttime aches and pains. One result is that they may sleep better at night.

Improve Their Self Esteem

Stimulate Their Mind

Engage Them In Social Situations

Ease Their Depression

Activities For Seniors With Dementia

Physical Activities For People With Dementia

These physical activities are simple and require few props. Physical activities can work on strengthening major muscle groups, fine motor control, and cardiovascular health.

Remembering Activities

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Social And Emotional Activities For Dementia Patients

Create a mystery bag. One of the most popular activities you can use is called Mystery Bag, or Stereognostic Bag.

What you need for this activity:

10 pairs of wooden shapes such as cubes, rectangular cubes, prisms, spheres, and eggs

Start by spending a few moments having the person look and feel each shape.

Have them observe the different forms each shape takes on when placed down on a different side. Once theyre familiar with the shapes, you can move on to activities that involve touch.

Place the cubes and rectangular cubes inside the bag, and ask the person to reach in and feel one shape. As they pull the shape out of the bag, they verbally say whether the shape is a cube or a rectangle.

You can also play a matching game with the person in your care by placing all of the wooden shapes in the bag, and have the person find matching pieces by feel. Repeat this process until all of the pieces have been paired.

Placing the objects in the bag eliminates distractions and stimulates the sense of touch, while the matching process helps to strengthen cognitive function. – Activities & Games for Dementia and Alzheimers Patients, Elizz Twitter: @ElizzTweets

Playing with dolls can help to fulfill needs for comfort and attachment. While individuals may have different views on the use of dolls and childrens toys with people with dementia, it is now widely recognized that dolls can offer a very powerful therapeutic benefit if used at the right time and in the right way.

Getting Started On An Exercise Program

3 Activities for Dementia Patients that Stop Sundowning

Suggestions to start an exercise program for a person with dementia include:

Talk with the persons doctor and organise a full medical check-up. Other health conditions, such as arthritis or high blood pressure, may limit the types of exercises the person with dementia can safely perform.
A physiotherapist can design an exercise program that takes the persons current health and abilities into account.
Start slowly. For example, perhaps five minutes of continuous exercise is all the person can manage at first. Over a period of months, add one extra minute at a time until the person can comfortably exercise for 30 minutes.
Demonstrate the activity yourself and ask the person to follow your lead.
Boredom kills off motivation, so mix up the activities to keep it interesting.

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Cooking Household Tasks And Gardening

You can keep or start cooking, as long as it is safe for you. If it becomes difficult, there are some small changes that can make things easier.

For example, you can:

ask someone to help you in the kitchen
try recipes that have fewer steps or ingredients
use pre-prepared ingredients such as ready-made
sauces or chopped vegetables.

Many jobs around the home also provide a good form of gentle exercise and can help you to keep physically active. These include:

doing housework for example, washing up, folding clothes or dusting
gardening for example, gently weeding the garden, maintaining houseplants, or growing herbs or flowers in window boxes.

You can ask someone to do these tasks with you if this makes them more enjoyable or easier.

Tip: It can be helpful to put out the things you need before starting a task so that you have a visual prompt for example, tools for gardening or ingredients for cooking.

Ideas For Getting Out And About Ideas For Getting Out And About

Days out Days out.

There are many fun ways to spend a day out and about. These include going to:

restaurants, cafes and pubs
see family or friends.

It may also be helpful to know that lots of places are becoming dementia friendly. This means that their staff and volunteers have had dementia awareness training so they should be more understanding and supportive.

Dementia friendly venues may also be designed in a way that makes it easier for people with dementia to attend and use them, for example by using signs and having a clear layout.

Some of these venues organise events or activities specifically for people living with dementia, such as theatre performances or film screenings, and exhibitions or tours.

Heather, who has metabolic dementia, gives advice on how to plan a dementia-friendly group outing.

Groups, communities and clubs Groups, communities and clubs.

A lot of places run activity groups that bring people with dementia together. Popular groups can include singing , making music, or art classes. Other activities include drama, dance, reading, writing or poetry.

Its important to find something that has meaning for you and that you enjoy. This could be a faith or community group, rather than creative activity. If you already attend a group like this, a diagnosis of dementia does not mean youll have to stop. Consider speaking with the group about any adjustments they could make to help you if you feel comfortable doing this.

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Creating A Memory Box

One of the games for dementia patients could be to create a memory box. They can put anything, from photos to newspaper cutting and anything absurd that may hold some significant value for them.

Memory boxes can help the patients feel connected to their past. Every person has a different story to tell and these memory boxes can be the start of some great storytelling, talking and celebrating the past and the old memories that they love.

Encourage An Emotional Connection

For many people with dementia, a sense of movement and rhythm is often retained. Listening to music, dancing, or contact with babies, children or animals provide positive feelings. People with dementia often have excellent memories of past events, and looking through old photos, memorabilia and books can help the person to recall earlier times.The opportunity to relive treasured moments can be deeply satisfying. If reading skills have deteriorated, make recordings for them. Locate picture books and magazines in the persons areas of interest.

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Final Thoughts On Activities For Dementia Patients

Learning how to care for a loved one with dementia can be challenging. But while keeping your loved one at home may be difficult, there are many potential benefits, too. One is ensuring that your family member receives personalised care and connection with their loved ones. By doing these activities together, you can reassure your loved one and enhance their quality of life, despite a dementia diagnosis.

Crochet Knitting Or Other Crafts

Did your loved ones once love to crochet or knit before the onset of dementia or Alzheimers? Try placing their knitting needles and ball of yarn in their handsit might just trigger a memory or even muscle memory. Yes, muscle memory is a real thing, and we have marveled at its effectiveness in memory patients.

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What Is Sensory Stimulation

Sensory stimulation activates one or more of the senses like smell, touch, hearing, vision, or taste. A sensory exercise can be as straightforward as listening to music or as interactive as tasting different flavors. Some sensory activities encourage problem solving, while others are to simply be enjoyed.

Activities Must Be Stimulating

3 Activities for Dementia Patients to Do Alone

It’s important that dementia patients stay active physically and mentally as much as they are able. This is why youll want to choose activities that stimulate your loved one’s mind and senses.

A great way to do this is to keep an eye out for things that your loved one loves to do or things that they enjoyed in the past. For example, if they had always owned a dog, they may find pleasure in having a stuffed dog to pet and care for.

Engage your loved one in conversation. If they’re unable to respond, you can give them a play-by-play account of what you are doing. For example, talk with them about the steps you’re taking to prepare the meal or describe the dish you are drying. Even if the person is unable to respond, they will benefit from hearing your voice.

Encourage your loved one to be involved in daily life, with activities such as setting the table or folding laundry. This will help them feel a sense of accomplishment and success.

Are you considering memory care for your loved one who is suffering from dementia? Senior Services of America can help. Our years of experience and extensive knowledge direct you to the senior community that will best meet the unique needs of your loved one.

Engage Them In Their Favourite Activities

Doing their favourite hobbies and interests them can be a great way to engage them in stimulating activities. Its always useful to ask your loved one what they might like to do first, so that you can make sure activities are really tailored to them. One way of doing this is by asking them to show you their favourite hobby.

Top Activities For People With Dementia

Dementia is a complex disease that affects the mind and body. It robs people of their memories, sense of self, and eventually life. However, there is still hope for those with dementia through various therapies.

Many activities can help improve the quality of life for those with dementia: from cognitive exercises like reading or puzzles to sensory exercises like knitting or crafts. People with dementia need as much stimulation as anyone else for both therapeutic purposes and improving their quality of life.

Weve put together a great list of activities you can perform with people who have Alzheimers or other forms of dementia that can be as fun as they are beneficial.

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Activities For Dementia Patients In Singapore: Why And How To Keep Loved Ones Busy

Because of the nature of dementia, many patients may no longer have an interest in hobbies they used to enjoy. Still, providing activities for dementia patients can be therapeutic and help ease frustrations due to their condition. Learn more about how daily activities support patients wellbeing and discover ideas to try with your family member.

4. Caring for Dementia Family with Ninkatec

For Any Activity Remember To Be Patient

Sensory Activities for Dementia Patients #Dementia # ...

No matter what activity you are engaging in, try to be patient. It may take the person with Alzheimers or another dementia longer to complete activities. Or they may not be able to accomplish things they used to do. If the person seems agitated, consider whether any activity is needed. Building in quiet times by just sitting together can be rewarding, too.

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