Expert Column
Kay Paggi 
Eldercare Consultant
As a licensed professional counselor, certified gerontological counselor and certified geriatric care manager, Kay...read more
Articles In This Column
- The Funeral Home Meeting: 12 Funeral Service Questions to Consider
- A Checklist of Essential Legal Documents for Aging Parents: What You Need to Know Before It's Too Late
- Things You Need to Know About Your Parent's Finances Before It's Too Late: A Checklist
- The Dementias: Diagnosis, Treatment and Research
- Amazing Tales of Aging
- Activity Directors' Tips for Creating Meaningful Senior Activities
- A Caregiver's Guide to Alzheimer's Disease
- Activities for Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients
- Geriatric Care Manager, Kay Paggi, Makes Headlines in The Dallas Morning News
- Death by Hospital
- How to Choose a Senior Care Facility
- Just When You Thought There Was No One to Help...Part 1 of 2
- Just When You Thought There Was No One to Help...Part 2 of 2
- Guidelines for a More Successful Visit: Visiting Your Elderly Loved One
- Go Ahead, Laugh it Up
- Is Laughter the Best Medicine?
- The Benefits of a Caregiver Support Group
- Talking to Your Elderly Parents: 6 Surefire Ways to Communicate Effectively
Geriatric Care Solutions & Management
Comments For "Activities for Alzheimer's and Dementia Patients"
Kay,
This article couldn't have come at a better time for me. We have been dealing with my mom and how to keep her active and involved and I wasn't sure what to do with her. Especially the grandkids. Now we have ideas of how they can still interact with her. Thanks for sharing these ideas.
I'm so glad this information was helpful. If you find something else that your mom enjoys, please send it in and let other readers know. Everyone needs a good idea for better care for dementia patients.
hi,
I was reading this blog and noticed you recommended puzzles with large pieces with age appropriate themes, and games similar to Go Fish.
I would like to introduce your readers to my website, http://www.memoryjoggingpuzzles.com. There you will find wooden jigsaw puzzles with large and few pieces with themes from Norman Rockwell - The Saturday Evening Post Covers.
Also, you will find Memory Treatment Card games, one is similar to Go Fish called "MatchMate" and a new one will soon be up called "What's Mis ing"? which is a little more challenging. All of these activities have the Norman Rockwell themes.
These activities have been tested in Memory Treatment facilities with these results.
Caregivers and families enjoy working with these activities because they stimulate conversation easily and jog the memories. Patients and residents love the fun loving themes, they are age-appropriate, some remember Norman Rockwell. There are smiles, conversation and a fun time. . .no frustration.
If you go to the website and purchase a puzzle, mention this blog and I will include a deck of "MatchMate" cards, they make a great kit for home or in facilities.
Also, there is a quantity discounts.
You will enjoy participating in your loved ones Memory Treatment with these activities.
I am a hospice social worker, so I work with a lot of individuals with end-stage dementia, for whom many "typical" dementia activities are no longer appropriate or possible. One thing that many of my patients seem to enjoy is having scented hand lotion massaged into their hands. Depending on the cognitive capabilities of the person, I might give them a choice of several scented products, or ask them what the scent reminds them of. The fragrance and the massage both provide pleasant sensory stimulation. Even some men like this, if there is a fragrance (e.g., green tea) that isn't too "girly".
Hi Debbie,
I haven't worked with end-stage dementia, only early and middle-stages. It is interesting to learn about the scents providing pleasant sensory stimulation. I know they enjoy massages and the ladies love to have their finger nails painted.
Depending on their capabilities your patients may enjoy just looking at the wonderful Norman Rockwell images on the cards, they are great storytelling themes. I've had residents just look at the cards and touch them as if they were real, but no words were spoken.
Below, is a comment from Dr. Slutzky
"Your puzzles do indeed show some promise, due to the fact that they engage persons with their emotional and recognition memory, but then rely upon "here and now" problem-solving skills." Mitchell R. Slutzky, Ph.D., Geriatric Psychologist, New York
I enjoyed hearing this and I am in the process of preparing for another study using this information.
karen@memoryjoggingpuzzles.com
http://www.memoryjoggingpuzzles.com
goodMorning,
I wanted to add a few lines to my previous comment, "I’ve had residents just look at the cards and touch them as if they were real, but no words were spoken."
One gentleman I was working with in a group was in the middle stages. He did need some assistance with the 6 piece puzzle and "MatchMate" card game. He was very fascinated with one of the cards "Little Spooners" and gently touched the image. He studied it for a long time. No, words were spoken, but we observed.
Later, I laid three different image cards in front of him, one was the "Little Spooners" and asked which card did he like best. It took him a few moments and then he gently touched the "Little Spooners". (All of the images were by Norman Rockwell)
I guess what I am trying to say is everyone reacts in their own way when doing memory activities. We have to be observant and patient to capture their reactions, some may be very subtle.
I usually work with individuals about a half hour.
Have a Great Day!
karen
To Debbie:
Yes, I usually carry a small hand lotion with me. I’ve been known to rub it into men’s feet because foot massages feel so wonderful and are so rare. I didn’t mention this because my focus was on keeping dementia patients busy. I imagine you have several other useful ideas. I’d appreciate you posting them or sending them to me privately. I could do an article later on late-stage activities. Thanks for responding :-)
Karen, thanks for responding. This kind of website is precisely the kind of information that I want for myself, and can pass along to my clients. I do a monthly online newsletter. I’ll include your link and your description of the games and puzzles, and your special offer. Thanks!
hi , i work in a gero/psych facility, I often use sensory activities, which include washing hands, applying baby powder and lotion,
I have had great success using aromotherapy, with various scents, sweet, salty, pungent, and various textures, such as oatmeal, grains etc, they enjoy smelling and touching,
today, i used some sand, filled some buckets and everyone put their feet in the sand, "our beach day," i hope this helps
How do you present the smells to them? In small bottles? How do you do the textures? Plastic cups, or something else? I love the Beach Day sand. I have heard of covering the floor with fallen leaves in the autumn but have not done it.
hi Kay, I use little plastic containers like you put beads in, so then i sprinkle some in their hands or on a little paper plate, so they can smell, or taste, textures, i will put a few on the plate and let them decide how to do it,
one of my clients likes to draw with textures, i used glue and then let her draw with oatmeal, coarse salt, herbs, it is pretty ,
I am very interested in your site, my mother has dementia and I will like to help her as much as I can and your site gave me good ideas,
I will like to share what is happening at our end.
My mother enjoy's holding a doll ( a baby size doll ) with a baby blanket and baby clothes, she talk to the doll too, she is relaxed and content when she has it, we take it away at meal times to keep the doll clean and we tell her the baby is gone to have her lunch etc , when her meal is finished we return the doll to her, she hold it tight and is happy again talking to it and kissing it.
I am sure it could help somebody else to know that it is a good activity for a dementia patient, keeps her occupied because she dresses the doll, keeps it warm, try to make it sleep etc.
maria, what a nice idea, and the baby doll is great, i work in a facility, and many of the ladies will walk with them, and nuture them, often sleeping with them at night for comfort, sometimes, i will take a few of the dolls and we will, have "bathing" time, with a bowl of sudsy water, and then put on baby powder and lotion, redress them and they can take a nap, it is very nuturing to our residents, nancy
The baby doll is such a wonderful comfort to dementia ladies. It takes them back to a time in their lives when someone needed them, and must boost their self worth. I had not considered it as an activity until you sent this posting. What a good way to make it interactive with the caregiver or other women with dementia. Bathing and dressing their infants is a wonderful way to affirm them as good mothers and worthwhile people. Thank you for adding this.
Nancy,
My mother and aunt were both together and each with their own doll and
if you will have several patients with their own doll each, I will recommend to dress each doll in very different clothe's color to avoid conflict, you will need to keep the same doll to each patient at all times because they recognize them and become very attached to them, some of the patients will try to reach for another patient's doll and it could be a problem.
It is better to use dolls that have a body that can be washed to have them bathing them and the most basic dolls are easier to keep clean ( my mother does not mind that the doll has the eyes open because they do not have movement, they are painted on the head )
Aloha,
I am new to the world of dementia.
My weekends will soon be working as an activities coordinator with patients of a care facility that have different levels of dementia. I want to thank all of you who have openned by eyes to a new world with your information. I hope to share some of my experience as time goes by, with working with my new friends and their developement.
Mahalo from Arizona,
Lynn
I am so happy to read this. We are looking for things to keep my 84 year old mother happily occupied and diverted during an upcoming long airplane ride.
This has stimulated my imagination.
As my contribution, I can share that she likes to polish her silverware and silver knickknacks. She also likes to sweep the floors with a broom.
Hello again, my Mother is busy counting and distributing in small baskets walnuts and almonds in their shells,
She seems to enjoy folding cloth napkins, also she is playing happy with a F-P doll house and the liitle figures.
Thank you Steffi Johnson for the polishing of the silverware idea.
Maria
The pictures and short sentences in the Snapshot Library (Nature series) have been helpful working with dementia residents who respond to colorful pictures. The books aren't obviously targeted on children.
Hello
We use the Babyeinstein picture cards and my mother enjoy reading the words, looking at the pictures, sorting them in groups.
She is happy for hours with very old magazines in Spanish.
What ever did exist in their youth and in their country of origin triggers good memories to them.
Have a nice day
Please Viking can you give us the address or the Author of the Snapshot Library (Nature series) ?
Thank you in advance!
I am organizing a medical mission to zacatecas mexico and the president of the small town asked for help with with this small nursing home that is capable of only holding 10 people this geriatric patients are depressed and abandoned by family and friends so I was looking for ideas of what to plan socially with this geriatric patients please help.
Patricia Rivera: I wish you have a good mission and can entertain the patients, my mother play happy with a medium size, soft sponge ball a bright red color, she is rolling it over a table to another person, if you can sit them in a circle around the table they might enjoy it.
My mother is getting faster to catch and even now teases us laughing!
Good luck!
She likes to arrange cut flowers, we use plastic containers
hi Patricia,
I read your comments about organizing a medical mission to help with a small nursing home in Mexico. This will be a very rewarding and at times stressful experience for you.
10 people may sound like a small number but for one person, 10 people at one time can be a big task.
They will probably be at different levels of dementia and have different needs in stimulation.
I would suggest getting different levels of games that will stimulate their mind rather than just keeping them busy.
I have just added 6 & 12 piece cardboard puzzles in two Norman Rockwell themes that are more for facilities because they are less expensive. They are for early and middle stages of dementia and alzheimer's patients.
I also have great Memory Card games for these stages.
These Memory Activities stimulate their recollection and emotional memories and encourage them to use their problem-solving skills.
The patients love the life life illustrations, bright and colorful and the caregivers love them because they are easy to interact with the patients. Less stress and more success.
Visit my website it has a wealth of information and best of luck.
In line with the spirit of the article, I’d suggest that you find out what women in this town typically do, when they are not cooking or cleaning house, and try to bring those familiar activities into their nursing home. Can they knit or croquet or sew? Can they grow herbs? Can they write their special recipes, or compile an oral history of the town or its church? Do they have telephones? Could they make sunshine calls to other shut-ins? I don’t know how women in this culture spend their time, or what kind of leisure time they would have had as adults.
Hymn sing-alongs might be welcome. Pass out musical instruments such as castanets or maracas, tambourines, bells—and provide accompaniment to the hymns or to oral psalms, or to folk songs or nursery rhythms. Are there popular simple games, such as Go Fish or Old Maid? A 'remembering' activity weekly might be fun: one week on places they have traveled, toys they played with when young, memories of their grandparents, home remedies, hair styles, how they met their husbands, etc. Each week could have a different topic that is announced the week before, so they have time to recall their lives and decide what memories to share.
I hope this helps. Enjoy the residents.
My memory jogging puzzles website has tips and ways for you to interact with those who have dementia and my Memory Cards are very similar to go fish, simple, easy to play and what is better these games are more successful that go fish.
No matter what you do, be patient and go with the flow. The person you are working with may not remember any of their family as family members.
It's best not try to convince them to remember and make them feel badly by not remembering but go along with what they are saying and be creative.
Also gentle touching on the shoulder or hands gives them comfort.
I'm sure with these tips you will come up with some also, once you get in their environment. enjoy the opportunity.
I discovered another activity my 84 year old mother enjoys. Opening and sorting my mail.
Also, she arranges my stainless steel silverware in the drawer after I wash the holder thingy.
She also loves to read and used to run her own business, so I give her many 8x11 papers to organize. She's great at filing. She likes to help unload the dishwasher and holds my hand to help me balance when I am on the stepladder.
As to the comments about dolls, my mom also likes stuffed animals, talks to them, feeds them and puts them to sleep in their boxes or beds at night. She has a whole menagerie, some dressed in holiday hats.
There is something very important in your comment and critical to how she is today.
You say she used to run her own business, that means she was using her mind and brain every day to solve problems or issues related to her business.
Those habits stored in her memory are what she is still using today to sort the mail and silverware.
You are very fortunate, many 84 years are not able to do those tasks well. They may start them, but not complete them.
Hi Patricia Rivera: my mother loves to work with fresh dough, se makes small cakes or sometimes figures, we tried playdough but she tried to eat it, the dough after she uses it , we bake it, only if it is clean to eat .. some days after we use fresh dough again .
You can try giving them small portions of Maza Dough and maybe some of them will shape Tortillas and feel happy doing them again, if those are clean enough you can bake them with them on a hot pan, most ladies in Mexico make fresh Tortillas daily.
Good luck
MarÃa
Does anyone have any suggestions for activities for alzheimer patients that shake, have trouble holding items,or are losing their motors skills?
hi Moneike,
I can tell you from experience that Memory Jogging Puzzles are good for someone that shakes for a couple of reasons.
The wooden jigsaw puzzles have few(6 or 12 pieces).
The puzzles are cut with a "waterjet" system making the pieces fit nicely together. You can pick up a puzzle when it is together by the corner and it will stay together.
Many times when a shaky hand puts a puzzle piece in place they will loosen others around it and this is frustrating for anyone.
If you are assisting this person in the activity you can help guide their hand and puzzle piece into place, this gives them some assurance.
Many patients need this type of direction, sometimes it is only because they aren't quite sure of their decision and don't want to make any mistakes.
These puzzles have great themes that trigger their recollection and emotional memory and their problem solving skills.
takeCare. karen
Activities for Dementia Patients is an excellent
article and the comments are very helpful. My wife
is 87, needs large print and uses a walker. Some activities we use are her religious lessons,solitaire and simple exercises.She likes
to fold clothes, set the table, have telephone calls, go for rides, look at magazine pictures and old albums.We will add some of the other activities
mentioned.
hi Harry,
Your wife has similar interests as my mother did. Mom also enjoyed cards and looking at pictures, she would have loved my Memory Jogging Puzzles and Memory Exercise Cards. She has inspired me from above.
We lived in a small town in Iowa and dad was always taking her for rides and then to the Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone. This was an important part of their daily routine it seemed.
She also set the table for dad who did the cooking.
You must be like my father a very patient man or a saint here on earth.
It can be difficult at times. Prayer and God have always been a big part of our lives. takeCare.karen
Harry,
Thank you for your comment.
Wishing you well,
Kay
My father has late stage alzheimers and i am always looking for something new to take the boredom out of his day. With him i find that soothing music helps the most. I have picked songs that i know he used to like many years ago, and sure enought these songs he does hum to. THese really are a comfort for him. ALso i have made up a small simple photo book of old pictures and he seems to enjoy these. i sit with him and talk about them.. this does keep him busy and soothes him. I am always looking for things at this stage it is hard to come up with things. If anyone has any advice i am open to any suggestions, please post them.
hi Cindy,
I agree with you about the songs from the past. I use this type of trivia along with my puzzles and cards. They love to sing along.
I don't know if you have been to: http://memoryjoggingpuzzles.com, there are Memory Jogging Puzzles and Memory Exercise Cards with themes by Norman Rockwell - The Saturday Evening Post and they have been developed for those with dementia and their caregivers.
These wonderful real life images make conversation easy and as you mentioned and I have seen some people just want to admire the images and talk about them. Reminiscing comes easily.
There is a card game called "gossips" which your father may enjoy just looking at the images.
The cover date is 1948 and the images are of men and women of that era gossiping. Weird hairdo's and the expressions are priceless. They are fun to work with.
takeCare. . .karen
Hello again: it has been a good idea to keep our mother busy and entertained, If you can make with cardboard boxes, glue and tape, some medium size doll houses for them to play with medium sized dolls they enjoy moving the dolls around the rooms and also dressing the dolls, unfortunatelly the lovely wood doll houses are too heavy for them to play with and the cardboard doll houses and furniture are soft and light for them to move, also if they drop them they do not get hurt.
Have a nice week
Maria
hi,
Ladies do enjoy playing with the dolls.
I enjoy listening to their stories while interacting with with the elderly.
Sometimes it takes a while for patients to open up, but once they start it is great.
When a activity or exercise stimulates their emotions and problem solving skills to me this is beneficial to them.
And when you can stimulate conversation that is very gratifying.
I remember one visit when the activity director and I were walking into the room.
A gentleman in a wheelchair was at the door. She asked him if he would like to work on some puzzles, his immediate response was "no". And we walked on.
When it was time to work with a group, the first person that I was asked to work with was. . .you guessed it, the man in a wheelchair at the door.
I thought to myself, "oh boy, and was a bit reserved and didn't quite know how to approach him, because he had already said "no".
As I sat down beside him, I laid a couple of puzzles out on the table within his reach.
I didn't ask or say lets work on a puzzle.
They were there for him to look at and observe.
Then I started to talk about the image on one of them.
I pointed out different things about the storytelling themes of Norman Rockwell in The Saturday Evening Post.
He didn't say much, but he was looking.
After more time of talking about the image, and pointing things out.
I started to pull the puzzle apart. It was a simple puzzle 6 piece and wooden.
Then I asked if he would help me put it back together and we put the puzzle together.
His shaking hand had to be guided by mine but he didn't mind.
We solved a puzzle!
He then reached for the other puzzle and while we were putting that one together, he started to talk to me.
He told me when he was younger him and his sister would put large puzzles together, 500 pieces.
At one time he was an engineer.
Then, he wanted to work with the cards and more conversation.
The activity director couldn't believe it.
Time flies when you are having fun, pretty soon the she came up and said, I had worked with him long enough and wanted me to meet someone else.
Each person has a story, some are similar all are enjoyed. takeCare. karen