Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, routines have drastically changed for most of us. Wherever you are, whatever your situation, I hope you are staying healthy, happy and safe.
A shout out if you work with people with dementia–in any capacity–THANK YOU!!!
Older adults with dementia need our love, support, and dedication right now more than ever. And lots of fun, free activities to keep them busy!
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Practicing social distancing and limiting “normal” life activities has been challenging and caused distress among my memory care residents.
Everyone else for that matter. The tension is real. Routines have been disturbed. And we’re all tired.
One resident who survived 4 years of German occupation in Belgium during World War II, cried for hours on her 98th birthday in April because her family had to sing “Happy Birthday” and blow kisses to her from the other side of a closed window. They wore masks and gloves. She was distraught and told me she understood how war could ruin lives, but didn’t know why an invisible virus could ruin everything. “I just want to die.”
Another woman suddenly became very rude to other residents and refused help from staff. She continually asks about the ‘virus thingy’. Her daughter has attempted several times over the phone to explain the situation, but she just can’t remember or process the info. The confusion and fear keep her in an agitated state.
Since quarantine began a few months ago, I have not allowed any TV watching of current news stories that could depress, scare, confuse, or agitate residents. Besides, there are much better activities to give our attention to.
Do People with Dementia Still Read?
Generally speaking, individuals in the early stages of dementia can continue reading without much problem. At times though, the person may forget what they’ve read and need to reread in order to fully understand a sentence or paragraph, especially if the material they are reading is unfamiliar to them.
I encourage my residents in the early stages of dementia to read as much as possible. Whether it be reading on their own or reading along or aloud during group activities.
Keeping the skill alive is absolutely vital to staying mentally active; participation in activities that spark and increase creative thinking, talking, reading, reminiscing, singing songs, reciting rhymes, telling jokes, and writing poems together.
Reading skills during the middle stages of dementia typically remain but comprehension will begin to decline. The individual may need to read and reread a word or sentence they just read several times. And even then they may not understand or remember what was read and what certain words mean.
A group reading can be very enjoyable at this point. I’ve had many residents over the years tell me they can’t read anymore, but love to hear people read to them.
Use this opportunity to share worthwhile material, to encourage thinking and remembering. Sharing a great story also encourages reminiscing and nostalgia.
In the late stage of dementia, some people enjoy looking through a book or magazine together, holding a copy of their favorite book, or listening to someone else read out loud. Simple short stories, poems, and rhymes are appropriate. For book ideas check out “One of the Very Best Activities for Dementia Patients – Book Club” and “Gifts for People with Dementia – Books, Books, Books!”
2 FREE Activities for Seniors with Dementia ~ That They Will Love!
1.Life Sketch
Reading the real life story of another person can often influence or motivate others to be their best self. A life sketch or biography may teach lessons of determination, courage, hard work, love, forgiveness, patience…They may remind us of our own struggles, dreams, successes, and life efforts. A connection with people from the past can help create feelings of belonging to the human family, that each life has meaning, and that we all have something important to contribute.
No one wants to be forgotten when they are gone.
Well, there is no shortage of famous, important, interesting people to read about. Check these websites for literally thousands of biographies for free.
- Biography.com
- S9.com
- Womenshistory.org
- loc.gov/collections/
- achievement.org/achiever
I aim for a 30 minute activity. This includes time to show photos, share quotes, and to tell the person’s story. Although I may read parts like specific dates and quotes, I believe the activity is enjoyed much more when shared in my own words. It’s important to make eye contact, see and respond to expressions/reactions/questions as we learn new facts together.
Last week, I picked Mister Rogers. I put some of his photos on the whiteboard. Then outlined his early life, career, family, philosophy,and contributions to Children’s television.
Rogers went before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Communication to defend public television from budget cuts. He talked about wanting to help children learn to deal with their problems in a healthy manner, to instill a sense of confidence in the kids he worked with, and to improve overall mental health practices.
Senator Pastore, the chairman of the committee was visibly touched and granted public television the funds they requested.
Finding ways to enhance your activity will make it stand out. For this particular Life Sketch activity, I could:
- Show a clip of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
- Play a couple of his songs
- Discuss some of the important lessons he taught his young audiences
- Watch one of his interviews
- Bring hand puppets to try
Humans are naturally drawn to one another. We are interested in what others say and do. Life experiences are important to share and simple biographies are appropriate during all stages of dementia.
2. Everything Else or “What About?”
What About? is the category I put all other topics that don’t fit into Life Sketch or biography. But you want to go about finding and presenting info for What About? in the same way you do for Life Sketch. Search for interesting groups of people (e.g. Native American tribes), inventions, historical events, animals, insects, nature, National Parks, monuments, strange places and things, and so on.
Again, I spend 30 minutes delving into a fantastic subject–looking at pictures, reading quotes, and learning more about something we may have never heard about, might be sort of familiar with, would like to know more about, or be reminded about what we’ve forgotten.
A lot of times, while researching for this activity, I stumble across a story or event that I’ve never heard before. I am just as eager as my residents to learn new facts. Print a copy for your files–never know when someone will ask a question or you’ll want to go over a cool topic again.
For instance, did you know Niagara Falls has run dry several times? Or that it was Mary Anderson who invented windshield wipers? Or that the coldest place in the Universe is the Boomerang Nebula, with a temperature of minus 458 degrees Fahrenheit?
A Drop in the Bucket
This list is merely a drop in the bucket for “What About?” topics:
Inventions/Discoveries
| Automatic Calculator | Circulation of Blood | Hot Air Balloon | Printing Press | Sewing Machine |
| Air Conditioner | Clock Mechanical | Helium | Parachute | Soft Contact Lenses |
| Animation | Diesel Engine | Insulin | Polio Vaccine | Synthesizer |
| Atom Bomb | Centigrade Scale | Jet Engine | Periodic Table | Thermometer |
| Aspirin | Chlorine | Locomotive | Penicillin | Typewriter |
| Adhesive Tape | Dynamite | Laser | Pacemaker | Vacuum Cleaner |
| Airplane | Electric stove/cooker | Light Bulb | Refrigerator | Vitamin A |
| Bifocal Lens | Electroscope | Motorcycle | Radium | Vitamin B |
| Barometer | Electric Fan | Microphone | Radar | Vitamin C |
| Barbed Wire | Elevator | Microscope | Rocket Engine | Vitamin K |
| Blood Group | Electric Motor (DC) | Machine Gun | Radio | Vitamin E |
| Bicycle | Gramophone | Oxygen | Richter Scale | World Wide Web |
| Chloroform | Hydrogen | Ozone | Safety Match | X-Ray |
| Cine Camera | Helicopter | Piano | Stethoscope | Xerox Machine |
World Events
| Wheel | Crusades | Communications |
| Modern Alphabets | Bubonic Plague | Suez Canal |
| Agricultural Revolution | Renaissance | Colonization of Africa |
| Writing Systems | Printing Press | Suffrage Movement |
| Legal Codes | Explorations | Radio |
| Buddha/Buddhism | Slave Trade/Abolition | Telephone |
| Confucius/Confucianism | Protestant Reformation | Flight |
| Ancient Romans | Ottoman Empire | X-Rays |
| Ancient Greeks | William Shakespeare Works | Rail Transportation |
| Aztec Civilization | Civil Wars | Television |
| Inca Civilization | World Wars | Depression/Stock Market |
| Great Wall of China | Textile Industry | Adolf Hitler and Nazis |
| Modern Calendar | Colonists in New World | Digital Revolution |
| Jesus Christ/Christianity | Boston Tea Party | DNA Structure |
| Muhammad/Islam | American Revolution | Civil Rights Movement |
| Gunpowder/Weaponry | French Revolution | Satellite/Space Travel |
| Norse Explorers | Medical Revolution | Internet |
| University | Russian Revolution | Apartheid |
| United Nations | China Revolution | Terrorism |
Landmarks
| National Parks Worldwide | Christ the Redeemer, Brazil | Machu Picchu |
| National Monuments World | Mount Fuji, Japan | Statue of Zeus, Greece |
| Mount Everest, Nepal/Tibet | Great Barrier Reef, Australia | Blood Falls, Antarctica |
| Empire State Building, USA | CN Tower, Canada | Ajanta Caves, India |
| Panama Canal, | Victorian Falls, Africa | Sanssouci Palace, Germany |
| Statue of Liberty, USA | Sydney Opera House, Australia | Pantheon, Italy |
| Route 66, USA | Pyramids & Sphinx, Egypt | Treasury of Atreus, Greece |
| Golden Gate Bridge, USA | Machu Picchu. Peru | Tarxien Temples, Malta |
| Niagara Falls, Canada & USA | Temples, Worldwide | Colossus of Rhodes, Rhodes |
| Eiffel Tower, France | Redwood Forest, USA | Knap of Howar, Scotland |
| Great Wall of China, Beijing | Ajanta Caves, India | La Hougue Bie, Jersey |
| Taj Mahal, India | Derinkuyu, Turkey | Tumulus of Bougon, France |
| Nuremberg Christmas Market | Newgrange, Ireland | Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt |
| The Colosseum, Italy | Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany | Himeji Castle, Japan |
| The City of Atlantis, Greece | Roman Baths | Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy |
| Confederation Bridge, Canada | Hopewell Rocks, Canada | Hotel de Glace, Canada |
| Reflective Salt Flats, | Chichen Itza, Mexico | Hagia Sophia, Turkey |
| Petra, Jorden | Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Iraq | Ha Long Bay, Gulf of Tonka |
| Valley of Love, Ireland | Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines | Table Mountain, South Africa |
| Jeju Island, Korea | Paricutin, Mexico | Reflective Salt Flats, Bolivia |
| Aurora, Canada | Stonehenge, England | Salt Cathedral, Colombia |
| Angkor Wat, Cambodia | Teotihuacan, Mexico | Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees, USA |
| Bermuda Triangle | Cahokia, USA | Vaadhoo Island, Maldives |
| The Ghost Trees, Pakistan | Cenote, Mexico | St. John’s, Canada |
| Underwater Forest/Kaindy Lake, Kazakhstan | Light Pillars, Moscow | Danakil Depression, Ethiopia |
| The Wave, USA | Cave of Crystals, Mexico | Easter Island, Chile |
| Loch Ness, Scotland | The Nazca Lines, Peru | Point Nemo |
| Okunoshima, Japan | Hashima Island, Japan | Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa |
| Valley of the Kings, Egypt | Okavango Delta, Africa | Pearl Harbor, USA |
| Strange Things… | ||
| Vantablack | Tardigrades | Voynich Manuscript |
| Goblin Sharks | Bismuth | Aerogel |
| Giant Tube Worms | Vampire Squid | Leafy Seadragon |
| Mini-Black Holes | Exoplanets | Metapseudes |
| Gravity Waves | The Giant’s Causeway | Thor’s Well |
| Pink Lake Hillier | Badab-e-Surt | Socotra Island |
I hope your interest has been piqued; that you are now ready to find awesome material to learn about and share. When possible, use first-hand accounts, color photos, and info specific to your area.
If you have any questions, let me know. I’d love to hear how your activity goes!
😀 Tamara
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