Caring for Someone with Alzheimer’s? Enhance Activity with These Tips

Each stage of Alzheimer’s disease brings with it unique challenges, and the strategies to overcome those challenges and help seniors live the fullest life possible need to be adapted accordingly. In the later stage of Alzheimer’s, it’s common for the person’s level of activity and engagement to decrease; yet, it’s still vitally important for caregivers to seek out as many opportunities as possible to help the senior stay involved in enjoyable pursuits.

Compassionate Nursing Services has caregivers who are fully trained and skilled in appropriate Alzheimer’s care for each level of the disease. We offer the following engaging activities to try with your senior loved one in later stage Alzheimer’s:

• Brainstorm the senior’s interests. A good first step is to put together as comprehensive a list as possible of what has piqued the senior’s interest during her lifetime: her favorite type of music and songs, hobbies, and passions. Having as much of this information as possible in one place will aid in coming up with corresponding activities that she may enjoy. For instance, if she raised and trained golden retrievers, arranging for a therapy dog to visit or purchasing a stuffed dog that looks similar to one she had in younger years may bring her great joy.
• Make sure the senior has time outdoors. There’s nothing as refreshing and calming as feeling the sunshine on your face and a cool breeze in your hair. Take the senior to a local park, or even just a walk/wheelchair ride around the block or through a garden to allow her the opportunity for fresh air and to experience firsthand the beauty of nature. Loved ones or trained caregivers like Compassionate Nursing Services’ home care team, can assist an older adult with enjoying the outdoors.
• Take time to reminisce. Since Alzheimer’s impacts short-term memory first and often leaves longer-range memories intact, revisiting stories you know from the senior’s past, helping her look at photo albums, listening to the song she danced to at her wedding or when rocking her babies can all bring about an enhanced interest in the world around her.
• Engage in the arts. Arts and crafts are wonderful activities throughout Alzheimer’s. In the later stages, the person may simply hold onto craft materials or help put them into place as the caregiver takes over the bulk of the activity, but the tactile engagement alone is soothing, and can rekindle memories of activities she’s done in the past.

For more appropriate activity ideas for those with Alzheimer’s disease, contact Compassionate Nursing Services. Our dementia care professionals are devoted to ensuring that each senior’s overall health, wellbeing, and enjoyment in life are maximized through compassionate, patient, personalized home nursing services. You can reach us any time at 314-432-4312 to schedule a free in-home consultation to learn more about our St. Louis home nursing services and the surrounding communities we serve.