Being diagnosed with dementia does not mean you shouldn’t remain active and involved in meaningful hobbies. They are still essential for your mental health! The majority of us need to feel both needed and successful and the feeling does not go away or change because of a diagnosis of dementia. With Alzheimer’s disease, for instance, stimulating and fun activities can dampen the challenging symptoms this disease presents such as anxiety, anger, agitation, depression, as well as sundowning.
Finding the right level of engagement in activities for the person’s cognitive functioning that are suitable for the person with dementia is all that is needed. Determining what stimulates their curiosity and engagement without causing stress, is something that may take a bit of trial and error.
Finding the right level of engagement in activities for the person’s cognitive functioning that are suitable for the person with dementia is all that is needed. Determining what stimulates their curiosity and engagement without causing stress, is something that may take a bit of trial and error.
Here are some tips to try to see what works best for your senior who has Alzheimer’s or dementia:
- Get outside. If the weather looks great, take the opportunity to go outdoors! It can create instant happiness. Take a walk and pick some fresh flowers for a friend. Read books out loud or look through an old photo album together. Perhaps, set up a table with soil, pots, and a couple of plants and have a small container garden.
- Do laundry. Having the scent of clean laundry being washed cascading throughout the house is a pleasant aroma to experience. Offer your senior some freshly laundered washcloths, hand towels, and pillowcases, to help fold up.
- Constructing a memory box, made for a senior to keep their specific interests inside. If they were an artist, perhaps they have some old paint brushes that were their favorite they decided to stay inside along with a small sketch or painting. They maybe even have an old tube of paint they have held onto over the years. When they’ve completed their box, talk to them about what it was like working with those items they cherish. You might be surprised by the memories it brings up for them.
- Make decorations. Handmade decorations are popular, especially around the holidays, but you don’t need to wait for the holidays to come around to get started. Having the grandkids make jewelry with big wooden beads and dry penne pasta is always fun! Taking the time to scrapbook with photos or decorate plain picture frames to dress up favorite photographs can be fun too. Once you get thinking of all the things you can hand make the ideas can become quite limitless.
- Help someone who is in need. If you know they are passionate about a cause, help them get involved. Whether that is supporting the homeless, volunteering at a children’s hospital, getting involved with helping Veterans, or volunteering their time with animals. It’s important to help them think of ways they can make a difference to help support the cause they care about. Maybe you could help them collect warm clothes for a local shelter, select toys together to drop off at the children’s hospital, gather some pet items to donate to the animal shelter, make (sew, crochet, knit) blankets, or hats to donate to a homeless Veteran organization.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Homecare in Greenville, SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116. Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens, Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding areas.
Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/activities-do-family-member-or-friend-who-has-alzheimers-disease
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