Simple Activities For Dementia Patients That Are Helpful

Try Practical And Game Activities For Dementia Patients

 

Some seniors experience dementia after reaching a certain age. The condition makes it hard for them to recall and do things. These difficulties affect aspects of their lives like their roles, routines, and confidence. Yet there are simple activities that may help them continue with a quality life somehow. They can try doing mundane tasks and recreations to manage. That is to say, simple activities for dementia patients.

People observed dementia to be irreversible for the most part. So the best option for palliative care may be to help seniors carry on with their lives. Guide them in performing actions for their mind and body to be active. The purpose is to let them feel independent, confident, and still important. In their activeness, they may discover ways to improve their state of mind too.

 

Game Activities For Dementia Patients

Games are engaging and could help with dementia. They stimulate the mind and promote physical exercise despite their simplicity. The versions that involve many players also encourage social interactions. These things alone make them useful. So letting old people play games may help with dementia.

One of the keys to success here is putting up games that involve repetition. It would be easy to develop a routine and elderly confidence with such activities. Below are some examples of some of the games seniors could play and use for their mental health.

Examples Of Games To Play

Jigsaw Puzzle

Use one that has an image of a familiar object or place for the elderly folks who would assemble it. It would be great to have a colorful puzzle that has pieces that are easy to see, hold, and interlock. Choose the kind that won’t take too long to assemble yet provides some challenge somehow.

Geriatric patients may assemble one puzzle at a time. They may also have separate ones to work on. What’s important is that the seniors would be in one place during their activity. It will allow them to interact with each other while keeping themselves busy.

Bingo

This is a stimulating game because it requires seeing, hearing, and touching. Interaction between players happen more often than not. It also has rules that are easy to follow.

• An announcer calls out letters and numbers drawn from a container or two.
• Participants check their cards and mark them if they have the ones called.
• The goal of the players is to form a BINGO pattern.

Old folks playing hold their cards and keep checking put marks and see if they’ve won. They often converse with one another about different things and to help out with the game. Players feel great about it because they all have an equal chance to win and the game mechanics are easy.

Board Games

It may be one of the ideal Montessori-based activities for dementia patients. Playing board games is often engaging and lets players take on roles. Folks who play may enjoy and learn things by themselves as the game progress.

There are different titles that old people could play. Yet it would be ideal to pick those who have these qualities:

• Rules that are easy to follow and has players doing the same things over and over
• A durable board with visible and only a few pieces to use
• Parts that are colorful, lightweight, and identifiable
• Doesn’t take too long to start and finish

Examples of these are chess, checkers, snakes and ladders, and mahjong.

Dominoes

Because of its design, it is also one of the simple activities for dementia patients. The game uses two colors only and on the dominoes are the numbers 1 to 6. Standard sessions are for 2 or more participants. Players get pieces to work with and have a goal to play all their dominoes to win.

Elderly folks can play with the dominoes using the standard rules. Yet they also have the option to stack or line pieces for a creative play. In any session, old people can use their eyes and hands, talk to one another, and make decisions during play.

Practical Tasks Are The Best Activities For Dementia Patients

Seniors suffering from memory or other mental disabilities may find many tasks challenging. Yet there are those that they are likely able to do without worsening their condition. Activities that are already familiar with them won’t pressure them. These could still provide useful brain stimulation. These are the ones that may be practical and ideal for elderly folks with dementia to do.

Suggested Activities

Gardening

It may be one of the most productive ones of simple activities for dementia patients. Growing plants, landscaping, and the likes give so many opportunities. These allow a person to get brain stimulation by being active and also have outdoor exposure. There’s even room to earn from planting greens that could be lucrative. Thus, it is good for the mind, body, and finances.

Planting, flower gardening, and vegetable raising are often inexpensive and relaxing. Many recommend gardening because it covers so many aspects of elderly care.

Watching An Old Movie

Watching a movie involves sitting a lot, but it’s helpful for people with memory issues. Old films may trigger forgotten feelings and unlock memories. Also, seeing and hearing events unfold on screen may get an old person excited. So it is what caregivers often recommend.

Viewing films with companions or peers may be ideal. That would be because it could promote socialization. Having family and friends around could likely enhance one’s mood too. So a lot of good things become available by watching classic flicks.

Using Coloring Books

Putting colors on drawings or outlines of objects can do a lot for seniors. The act of holding a coloring material can already simulate writing in general. Being exposed to a lot of hues may activate memories, but will likely stimulate the brain upfront. So using coloring books makes sense as a useful activity.

It is one of the simple activities for dementia patients for expressing emotions too. In psychology, different colors have unique meanings. Seniors may use the routine of coloring to say what they mean without using words.

Always Take Note Of The Effects Of Dementia On Geriatric Cognition and Psychology

Caregivers need to remember the symptoms experienced by old people with dementia. This is so they would be mindful of the measures that they take to help. Some of the manifestations of it are as follows:

Cognitive Symptoms

• Seniors become forgetful and others notice it more than them.
• They find it difficult to start a conversation and keep one going. This is from forgetting words and phrases.
• Solving simple and complicated problems turn hard and even impossible for them. So there are challenges to making arrangements too because of these.
• Old folks have balance and mobility issues due to confusion.

Common Psychological Issues

• Aged folks have sudden or frequent changes in their personality
• They get overwhelmed by sadness, worry, and fear
• Some of their behavioral responses to things may be inappropriate.
• They can hallucinate.

Tips For The Guides or Caregivers

In most cases, experts encourage setting games and activities with many geriatric patients. What’s important is that the guide for the elderly folks should be responsible enough to:

• Identify the background of the seniors. This means knowing their history, family and friends, interests, talents, and skills. It would also pay to find out their strengths. That is concerning their mental and physical health management.
• Treat everyone involved with respect as a whole or avoid biases. Geriatric patients are emotional. They demand attention and are vulnerable to feelings of neglect. One of their needs is to have a sense of independence too. So balance these when caring.
• Have patience. Give instructions and explain things as needed without prejudice. There are still some challenges to simple activities for dementia patients.
• Set an ideal atmosphere that promotes cooperation, social interaction, and also peer teaching.
• Know how to provide positive reinforcement. Rewarding good deeds with attention, affection, and praise may inspire self-improvement.
• Encourage the seniors to use all senses while performing activities. The more stimulating activities are, the better they are. They can turn and keep the brain active and thus functional.
• Make appropriate visual, auditory, and tactile cues available. This is to make aged folks recall, identify, and appraise things better. Put these within reach yet keep their purpose discreet. Their purpose is to let seniors make sense of what they are for.

In Conclusion

Dementia may be progressive, but some things may help in its management. Doing simple activities for dementia patients can assist the elderly live better. There are options to play games and also perform mundane yet helpful tasks for it. These can let seniors bring back meaning and purpose to their lives. It can let them remain caring for themselves and others as a productive member of society.

In performing stimulating activities, seniors ought to be in a safe environment. There also needs to be cues, from their peers, and a caregiver to help. Palliative care like this may be the best option for dementia, but it is better to have it than nothing at all. 

Read More:

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20 Engaging Activities for People With Dementia at Home

 

Using the Montessori Method for Dementia