Posts Tagged ‘Activities You Can Do with Dementia Patients’

While dementia is often associated with memory loss, there can be much more to it than that, depending on the type of dementia. As the disease progresses, many patients don’t just lose their memories, they also tend to lose their cognitive abilities, including reasoning, language skills, and their ability to work with numbers. That’s why one of the early signs of dementia is not forgetfulness, but mail piling up and left unsorted, bills going unpaid, and housework left undone as the person forgets how to complete those tasks.

So, if your loved one is suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s, it can be tough to come up with activities to do with them, since they might not remember how to play what used to be their favorite game. That said, there are still some things they can do, and ways you can help them feel included.

• Take a Walk

Taking a walk, especially outside, is one of the best ways for just about anyone to feel better. Not only does it give you a chance to move your body, which is good for almost everything, it also gives you a chance to get some fresh air and enjoy the feeling of the sun on your skin. In addition to feeling good, sunshine is an important source of vitamin D, which makes it a nutritional necessity.

When you take your loved one for a walk outside, you can point out different kinds of plants and birds, or pick a spot to watch the clouds roll by and see what shapes you can find in the clouds. Fall is an especially great time to get outside and go for a walk while all the leaves are changing color. Appreciate the foliage while it lasts.

If it’s getting too cold outside for your loved one to enjoy a walk outside, you can always walk around inside. Take a tour of the building and turn it into a game by making a race out of it, or seeing how many landmarks you can spot.

• Gardening

Gardening is a great way to get older Americans outside in the fresh air and keep them active, while making them feel like they’re being productive and contributing to the community. It also has the added bonus of beautifying the community, so the next time you take a walk outside with your loved one, you can point out all the lovely plants they helped nurture.

• Toss a Ball

While the rules of some games might start to elude those suffering from dementia, everyone can grasp the concept of throwing a ball back and forth. It’s a great way to get some exercise and make them feel connected to you without performing a task that’s too challenging for them.

If they’re suffering from arthritis, you can make the game even easier by tossing a balloon around and see how long you can keep it from touching the ground.

In addition to our memory care wing, we also regularly schedule all kinds of activities for our residents to keep them active and engaged as much as possible. If you have any questions about how we make sure all our residents feel included, don’t hesitate to reach out.