Activities to do with an Alzheimer’s patient

Caregivers most times find it very hard to keep an Alzheimer’s patient active and engaged in everyday living. You may feel that that there is too much time and not enough things to do when caring for your loved one. Activities to do when you are inundated with your Caregiving duties are just one part of the Caregiving experience.

There are proven activities that can keep you and your patient busy and engaged. The thing to remember most is that you need not fill a whole day with such activities; just time periods that fill your patient with emotions that will make your patient feel involved and alive. They help in reducing stress for you as well as the patient. In most cases, the simplest of things can be of great importance to the patient as well as yourself. Let’s take a look at some things you can do to help in this regard.

1. Walking

What is easier than walking, now we are assuming that there are no mobility issues here, as long as there are not. Walking reduces stress as well as it also gives you quality time with your patient. Nothing says it has to be a marathon walk; just 10 to 15 minutes can make all the difference in the world. When walking be sure to change the route from time to time to make the activity a little more enjoyable. Be sure to point out different things along the way and talk about the most interesting things you see. This helps keep your patients mind active as well as a feeling of being engaged. That alone is worth the price of admission.

2. Music

Music has been a part of everyone’s life at one time or another. Music is one of those things that can stir emotions, bring back memories of times when things were good in our lives. Do a little research here to find out just what type of music your patient likes and used to listen too. When a person hears a particular song that they enjoyed when they were younger, it helps in making them feel better and the mood of a person can change on a dime when that happens. You can use music to set the mood for your patient. Just think of yourself when you hear a song that you like, does it stir emotions in you? Sure it does, it’s no different in your patient. Make sure that when you use music there are no other distractions to confuse your patient. Distractions can really disrupt the thought process and kill the objective you are setting out to do. Try to get your patient involved, maybe getting them to clap to the music, tap their feet to the beat, make it a play time, maybe even get your patient to dance, if they liked that when they were younger they will like in now. In some patients, when they were younger never even liked to dance, but now they might have just lost those inhibitions and actually try to dance. It really can be a fun activity.

3. Art

Using art as an activity can be a challenging thing to do if neither you nor your patient has had any experience at it. But it’s one of those activities that can be used as a fun thing to do. Make fun of yourself and your inartistic ability, I think you’ll find that your patient will do the same. However if you or your patient has some artistic ability it can be an activity that can last all day long and keep both of you busy. If you or your patient is good at it, it will bring back emotions and keep the mind active. Art is a challenging thing for the mind, it keeps the motors running.

Try to introduce conversation into the project, keep in mind to stay on a course that will interject feelings of encouragement, talk about just what your patient is creating and what it means to them.

Remember to use non toxic paint if you’re painting and no sharp objects. Having these tools around can only make a good situation go bad in a hurry.

Do not feel the project has to be completed in one setting; completing the project over several settings is just another way of keeping your patient active. The project is completed when the patient says it’s completed, don’t ever tell them it’s finished before they say it’s finished, and remember it’s not your project it’s theirs.

4. Photographs

Maybe something as simple as putting scrap book together is what you think will do the trick, believe it or not this does take some artistic ability. Using old photographs to do this kind of activity can bring back memories, instill emotions, and can be a very enjoyable activity. There are whole websites dedicated to scrapbooking. Visit some of these sites to get ideas and instruction on how to start. They can keep you and your patient busy while keeping the mind for your patient active.

5. Pets

Pets have way of making people feel good about themselves; pets usually react very positively to people who show an interest in them. Pets crave attention just like humans do. People who have had pets over the course of their lives, studies have found that they live longer and more positively enhanced lives.

You have to keep in mind not every patient will react positively to pets; people who have had pets in the past will react better than patients who have not had any pets before. Also keep in mind, just what pet would be good for your patient. For example patients who are little more mobile and active may enjoy a dog’s presence over a cat. People who are a little less mobile may enjoy a cat over a dog. Any way you look at it pets can have a very positive effect on your patient.

6. Games

Games keep the mind active and involved. There are literally thousands of different kinds of games to introduce to your patient. Some are very good and some that are not good at all.

You have to keep in mind the level of skill your patient can handle. The differing stages of Alzheimer’s your patient is in will make the difference on just what games to play. Board Games and memory games are very good for the Alzheimer’s patient that has just been diagnosed with early on set. Card games that your patient may have played earlier in life will be of great importance to keep your patients mind active and alert. They will also enjoy keeping in touch with games they have been familiar with all their lives. Patients in differing stages of Dementia or Alzheimer’s will determine just what games would be of the greatest help and use for an activity you can do with your patient.

We here at the Alzheimer’s Research Association endorse the company, Lumosity. Lumosity.com is a company that provides games to improve brain health and performance. They are the leader in this field and have researched the field of using games as a way of keeping the mind active and healthy.

We also endorse this company as a way for Caregivers or really anyone who has an interest to improve their brain health. This company is about being proactive about slowing the progression of diminishing memory in all people regardless if you have any form of Dementia or Alzheimer’s. They are one of the good guys in our fight against Alzheimer’s.

The ideas we just discussed are just a few ideas that we feel make sense on the different activities you can do with your patient. Remember that as a Caregiver that any activity that you find useful and engages the patient is just another part of the Caregiving process.

If you find other activities you find that works with for you and your patient by all means use them and use them frequently.

7. Reading

Reading is another activity that may help you in your quest to find things to do with your patient. Maybe just reading the newspaper to your patient would be of great help.

If your patient read the newspaper in their earlier years and don’t do it anymore because they find it to difficult to do, they just might enjoy having you read it to them. When you find a particular article that interests your patients, start a conversation with them about it, and discuss the merits of the article, get your patient engaged, help them along with the discussion.

Books, magazines, blogs, and websites all have great reading material to help engage the patient and keep their minds active. Encourage their involvement and discussion.

I think it goes without saying to keep away from reading material that would upset your patient. Be careful in this area stay away from anything that would agitate your patient, the goal here is to keep their mind active and not to upset them in any way shape or form.

The ideas we just discussed are just a few ideas that we feel make sense on the different activities you can do with your patient. Remember that as a Caregiver that any activity that you find useful and engages the patient is just another part of the Caregiving process.

If you find other activities you find that works with for you and your patient by all means use them and use them frequently.

If you as a caregiver would like to share any of your activities that you find are very useful tools with us to help other Caregivers, please do not hesitate to contact us and let us know what those tools are. We will be happy to post them here so that the list we have here grows to help each other Caregivers as much as we can.

Remember we here at the Alzheimer’s Research Association are building an organization that is based on the idea that we as Caregivers are building a community that we help each other.

After all who knows best about what works and what doesn’t work. It’s the Caregivers of the world who experiment with different ideas of what works best for them. We know that there is not a one size fits all approach to the Caregiving process. What works for one does not necessarily work for everyone? But with your help we as a community can help each other.