Activities! And more activities for people with advanced dementia
Want to break up the day for your loved one with dementia? Here are some ideas from activity directors who run memory care facilities for people who are functioning on a low level. They are simple, engaging, and fun. Most involve one or two senses. Seeing your senior respond is a joy for you and the aide both!
Sound is a good stimulant and engages this population. Connect your phone to a speaker. Preselect specific sounds from an app. Then play the sound and the older adult tells what the sound is. Sounds like a bell, a cash register, a baby crying, a cat, and a subway door about to close are not hard. You get laughs when you play the intestinal gas sound.
Put a Twister mat on the floor and have the older adult toss beanbags on corresponding colors.
Put tape on the floor to create a tic tac toe board and then we play tic tac toe with bean bags.
Give each adult a scarf. Have him toss the scarf in the air and then catch it. Do it with each hand. Then have him toss it in the air and clap once, then twice, etc. Some seniors can go up to 6 claps sometimes.
I Spy dry-erase sheets are simple visual games used by preschool teachers and parents. You can buy the templates for pennies and laminate them yourself for one-on-one games where the senior finds the item and circles it after the partner says what it is. They are not complicated I Spy collections that one is used to from picture books, but the idea is the same. There is a wide variety of items like this that can be purchased depending on the level of the senior. Some are called search and find.
Incorporate a regular mandala coloring program. You can do 1 on 1 coloring for the senior if you need to but ask what colors they want to use and talk about the picture. Of course, if she does it herself it is a tactile experience.
Play swat the balloon with fly swatters. Even if the grip is not strong enough, help out and you will get smiles and laughs.
Making snow at home is easy and fun. Mix equal parts of baking soda and shaving cream in a bowl, starting with one cup of each. Use a fork and soon it will begin to resemble snow. You may have to add a little more of one or the other. The next step is to make a snow man or other creatures using hands, beads, a bit of felt, and other things you have around the house. You can store the snow in an airtight container for a while if it is securely closed.
Playing bingo but with pictures instead of numbers works!
Stringing large hole beads onto yarn with a plastic needle is an oldie but goodie. Here are some more: sorting items such as buttons, poker chips, bingo chips, cutlery, socks, simple jigsaw puzzles, building with Lego/Duplo blocks, stuffing envelopes, shredding papers, making paper chains with wristbands, wrapping up, fork, knives, and napkins.
Caring Professionals has lots of resources for caregivers:
- Gift-Giving Made Easy: A Caregiver’s Guide to Helping Grandma
- Creativity and Caregiving
- Nine Tips for Hosting your Family During the Holidays
- How to have Hopeful Holidays with your Senior
- 12 Stress Busters for Caregivers around the Holidays
- Kitchen Remodeling for Safe Aging in Place
- How to Assess a Home for Senior Safety: Age in Place Part 1
- How to have Hopeful Holidays with your Senior
