20 Home-Based Activities You Can Do with a Loved One Who Has Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s doesn’t just affect their memory.
Whether your loved one was recently diagnosed or they’ve had the disease for a while, you’ve probably noticed that Alzheimer’s doesn’t just affect their memory. Dementia can also change their personality, affect their relationships, and impact their overall quality of life.
Of course, there are things you can do to help your senior remain joyful, facilitate meaningful interactions with people they care about, and add life to their years. One of the best and easiest ways to accomplish that is to engage them in activities they enjoy. The best part is that you can do it right at home. You just have to understand how the activities benefit your loved one, tailor your approach to suit their needs, and choose activities they’ll love.
The Benefits
Caring for someone with memory loss, or simply helping them care for themselves, involves more than routine, daily activities. While it’s important that your loved one bathes, eats, and sleeps well, their health and well-being also depends on their ability to remain social and active. Meaningful interactions, both planned and spontaneous, help fill your senior’s time with cognitive, sensory, and skill-based activities that help keep their body, mind, and spirit in the best shape possible. As far as tangible benefits are concerned, these activities may lessen symptoms of dementia by:
reducing undesirable activities, like wandering or agitation,
allowing self-expression,
encouraging emotional connections,
reducing anxiety and frustration, and
triggering memories.
In other words, it’s possible to counteract the natural tendency of a person with Alzheimer’s or dementia to withdraw and isolate him or herself from the people and hobbies they love. While it won’t always be easy to engage your senior in this process — it will only get more difficult as time goes on — knowing the benefits of planning, encouraging, and participating in appropriate activities with your loved one is likely all the motivation you’ll need to keep at it.
The Approach
From scheduling to environment, how you approach and implement your plan to incorporate activities into your loved one’s routine is just as important as which activities you choose. First and foremost, you’ll need to consider any physical or mental health conditions, aside from their memory loss. Underlying pain, outstanding medical concerns, or even dehydration could negatively affect your senior’s willingness and ability to participate.
Beyond ensuring any health issues are addressed, you should also pay close attention to your loved one’s environment. Many people with Alzheimer’s are hypersensitive to sensory stimulation. As a result, too much noise, excessive clutter, too little light, or too many people could make it difficult for your senior to focus on the activity at hand. The best case scenario in this situation is that your senior won’t enjoy the activity, but in the worst case scenario, your loved one will become overwhelmed and agitated. Either way, they will not experience the benefits you are aiming for, and they likely will not want to continue.
The optimal approach to this task, like with most things, will vary greatly depending on the individual. However, there are several ways you can increase your chances of successfully incorporating activities into your loved one’s routine:
Timing - Schedule activities for the time of day when your senior is most alert and in the best mood. Be flexible, and realize that it may take some trial and error before you find a schedule that works well. Furthermore, activities should be brief.
Assistance - No matter the task, always help your loved one begin, and make yourself available for support throughout the activity. If they aren’t motivated, try inviting them to complete the task with you.
Encouragement - Criticism and perfectionism will only frustrate your loved one. Allow them to complete the task as they see fit, and focus on the joy they get from the process. Have a conversation as you work, and talk about anything they are interested in or respond well to hearing about.
Adjustment - A person with dementia may not be able to do everything they used to, but there are ways to modify activities to fit their current skills. For example, someone who enjoyed reading may enjoy being read to, while someone who played an instrument may love listening to music.
The Activities
Based on the potential benefits and the plan you’ve made to incorporate them into your loved one’s daily routine, you probably have at least a few ideas for which activities you think will be best. If not, don’t worry. Brainstorm using some of the following suggestions, and don’t be afraid to ask for input from your senior’s other friends, family members, and caregivers.
Use activities your loved one already enjoys as a starting point, and adjust to accommodate current skill and ability. For example, a lifelong artist may still enjoy creating. However, it could also be frustrating for them if the quality of the work is not up to their standards. In that case, coloring or painting by numbers activities may be a better idea.
Use a former career to help you come up with tasks that help your senior feel a sense of accomplishment. A former mechanic may enjoy playing with Matchbox cars. A former construction worker may like simple woodworking activities or Tinkertoys. An office employee, on the other hand, may enjoy typing, organizing papers, or sorting mail. A homemaker may benefit from sweeping, folding laundry, or other household tasks.
If your loved one had a favorite daily ritual before the disease, like sitting on the porch and listening to the radio after dinner, start there. The illness may not allow them to initiate the activity themselves anymore, but that doesn’t mean they won’t enjoy it still.
Try group activities, but be cautious. If your senior had breakfast every Friday with a group of friends, try inviting that same group over to the house each week. If they went to church every Sunday, try inviting some church members over to watch the service on television. Some seniors with Alzheimer’s will enjoy the company, but others may become upset or agitated when surrounded by large groups.
Finally, it’s time to talk about specific activities you can try with your loved one. This list of 20 ideas is simply designed to give you inspiration about where to begin. No activity is off limits, as long as it is safe and brings your senior joy.
Bake or cook easy recipes.
Clean or organize the house.
Paint, color, or do other simple arts and crafts projects.
Knit, crochet, or sew simple patterns.
Read — or be read to — books, newspapers, or magazines on subjects of interest.
Play or listen to music, or sing familiar songs.
Garden or spend time outdoors.
Complete puzzles of appropriate difficulty.
Look through old photos or watch old home movies.
Create a scrapbook of your loved one’s photos and memories.
Play memory games, do crossword puzzles, or play other stimulating brain games.
Watch favorite sports, movies, or shows.
Build with blocks, Tinkertoys, or Legos.
Play cards with a group.
Watch a worship service on television.
Take a walk outdoors.
Play with sensory items, such as clay, Play-Doh, or bean bags.
Create a memory bag with items of meaning.
Spend time with a pet or service animal.
Dance.
Remember, the goal of these activities is to increase your loved one’s quality of life and engage their mind. If, at any point, your senior becomes agitated or doesn’t seem to be enjoying the task, stop. Try again later, or switch to another activity. Ultimately, by focusing on your loved one and letting them lead the way, you’ll find a routine that works.
