7 Dementia-Friendly Activities All the Family Will Enjoy
Connecting with a family member with
dementia is extremely important for their own sake, but can also be
challenging, especially when memory loss is accompanied by speech
difficulties and changes in mood or personality. If you have a family
member or close friend suffering from dementia and you’re struggling to
stay connected with them, know that you’re not alone. There are over 55
million dementia sufferers in the world, and the majority of those
people have family and friends.
Remember that there are many ways you can
spend quality time with a loved one with dementia, even if you can’t
engage in activities you once enjoyed together today. In this post, we
list a few excellent dementia-friendly family activities and provide
tips that will help you decide what would work best for your family.
How to Choose the Best Activities
When it comes to choosing the best types of
activities for your friend or family member, there’s no universal
answer or prepared list. We’re all individuals with our own character,
preferences, hobbies, and lifestyle, and the kinds of activities that
bring joy and meaning to your family member should fit their
personality. Here are a few tips to consider when choosing a family
activity with someone suffering from dementia:
*Take your family member’s unique skills into account. Did your
spouse travel a lot or worked in a field that required specific skills
before their diagnosis? Do they have hobbies, sports, or social
interests they cherish? The answers to these questions can give you a
clue as to what kinds of activities they would probably enjoy most.
Don’t be in a rush. Give the person time and space to complete the
activity on hand at their own pace. If necessary, break down each
activity into actionable and simple steps, and remind each step as they
progress.
*Be ready to change course. Your family member’s abilities may change
from time to time. One day they may enjoy or be successful at a
specific activity, but they can find it difficult or stressful to do so
the next day. If that happens, switch gears and focus on a different
activity.
*Focus on activities that are realistic but not boring. A key to real
connection and fun is balance. Both boredom and frustration can kill
your family member’s interest in an activity. Ideally, they should find
meaning and value in the activity while also being capable to complete
the tasks it requires.
*Tap into activities that activate motor memory. Actions and
movements tend to stick around in the human brain for a really long
time. Training and maintaining such actions, even if it’s small things
like household chores, walking, or gardening, is often very beneficial
for dementia sufferers, as it helps them feel capable, useful, and more
connected to others.
* Adapt to your family member’s daily schedule. If you can only meet
with your loved one in the afternoon but you know that they’re most
active during the morning hours, don’t drag them on a walk. Choose a
different, more relaxing activity like puzzle-solving instead.
Now, let’s move on to the recommended family activities you can enjoy
with a loved one with dementia. We list 7 of such activities in this
article and explain why they’re beneficial, but you can find many other
suggestions here on the Alzheimer’s Association Website.
1. Open the trusty family photo archive
It doesn’t matter if it’s a physical photo
album or a digital one, taking the time to sit down and look through
cherished family memories captured on film can be a meaningful
experience for the entire family. Old memories have the tendency to be
retained for a longer time, so even a family member with advanced
dementia can sometimes tap into these long-term memories through visual
stimuli like photos or videos. Remembering the fun and memorable
occasions together can help strengthen your family bonds.
2. Listen to music
On a similar note, listening to music
together or watching live performances of your loved one’s favorite
musician can tap into old memories. Nostalgia is a powerful force. If
there is a special song or artist you always listen to or dance to
together, turn it on whenever your loved one needs to lift their mood.
You can even compile a playlist of your loved one’s favorite songs and
play them regularly.
In fact, there’s even research suggesting that music can help dementia
sufferers evade depression and slow down cognitive decline. Dancing to
upbeat nostalgic tunes is also extremely helpful, as many dementia
sufferers tend to retain a sense of rhythm longer than many other
abilities.
3. Plan a movie night
Do you have a family tradition of watching
the same movie with your sibling at Christmastime? Or maybe, one of the
first dates you went with your spouse included a trip to the cinema…
Just like dancing, photos, and music, familiar films can rekindle
seemingly lost memories. Rewatching cinema classics with the entire
family is a terrific tradition and relaxing activity everyone will
enjoy.
4. Do housework or cook together
Housework may not sound particularly
exciting to you, but your family member with dementia may find comfort
and confidence in such regular activities. These regular activities will
keep your family member moving and provide tactile experiences that
feel familiar. Instead of feeling depressed, this can make your loved
one feel useful.
The best suitable household tasks are simple, repetitive, and such that
can be done together, for example:
-Folding laundry
- Sweeping
- Vacuuming
- Organizing the wardrobe
- Doing dishes
- Wiping down countertops
- Cooking family recipes.
5. Take a walk
The benefits of walks are plenty, and it’s a
simple activity you can practice with your loved one year-round. When
the weather is sunny, you can go on a nature walk or a walk through the
park or the neighborhood, and when it’s overcast, you can walk through
the local mall or enjoy a trip to the botanical garden.
Even if your loved one is in a wheelchair, getting some fresh air will
be beneficial for them, and it can spark a conversation about the
weather and the surroundings. Remember that spending time with your
loved one with dementia or Alzheimer’s outdoors is quite important, as
they cannot go on walks and trips on their own.
6. Enjoy a fun board game or card game
Brain teasers and intellectual games are
the perfect fit for dementia patients. According to professionals,
incorporating mental stimulation together with social activities in
daily life can help dementia and Alzheimer’s patients retain their
cognitive abilities for a longer time.
Whenever choosing a game, it’s best to focus on familiar and simple ones
like Scrabble, Chutes and Ladders, Dominoes, Bingo, or classic card
games like Go Fish. New games may confuse your loved ones with dementia
or make them frustrated or stressed. Similarly, don’t be hard on a
family member if they make an odd mistake in the rules or forget
someone’s name. It’s best to just let small errors like these slide.
7. Have family fun with puzzles
If you’ve got more than an hour or two of
family time available, working on a puzzle is an activity you should
definitely consider. These can be traditional picture puzzles,
crosswords, or even 3D puzzle toys - there’s a huge variety of puzzles
available these days both in stores and online. Like other games,
puzzles are a great mental workout that will preserve your loved one’s
cognition for a longer time. Plus they’re fun for both kids and adults,
so the entire family will be able to enjoy an evening with puzzles.