As Alzheimer’s disease creates changes in your aging loved one’s brain, you’ll need to come up with new activities that are easier for him or her to manage. In most cases, activities for people in the middle to later stages of the disease should be fairly simple and provide a cognitive boost without being overstimulating. Filling your loved one’s day with these activities helps you provide a sense of enjoyment that elevates his or her wellbeing.
Keep Different Types of Games Around
Puzzles and games are great ways to spend time together, and having more than a couple of options helps you change things up every now and then. Pick out a few obvious memory games, such as concentration, that you can play. Add in some simple board games to play together that are simply fun and rely more on chance. Being able to pull out games that range from mild to challenging gives you options to choose from based on the type of day your loved one is having.
An in-home caregiver can be a wonderful game-playing partner for your loved one. Aging adults with Alzheimer’s disease can benefit from receiving professional Alzheimer’s care. Lincoln seniors need regular mental stimulation when managing memory-related conditions, and a reliable in-home caregiver who has extensive training in Alzheimer’s care can be a great asset.
Give Them Familiar Tasks
There are times when you need to keep your loved one occupied while you do other things nearby. Seniors often enjoy doing activities that remind them of things they’ve done in the past. For instance, your loved one might like to connect PVC pipe pieces and joints together if he or she used to work in the plumbing industry. You can even use a similar concept to help former office workers or postal carriers stay busy. Tap into something your loved one used to do and find something that matches, such as sorting coins or postcards into a tray.
Do Chair Exercises
Seniors with Alzheimer’s disease need regular physical activity to help them burn off energy that might otherwise turn into challenging behaviors. Show your loved one how to perform simple exercises, such as leg lifts and ankle rolls, while seated in a chair. Once your loved one has a few moves down, try offering a visual list of the exercises to work through with assistance if needed.
If your senior loved one has been diagnosed with a serious condition and needs help with tasks like meal prep, transportation, bathing, and grooming, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a leading provider of elderly home care families can trust. We also offer comprehensive care for seniors with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.
Let Them Dig in the Garden
Gardening has many benefits for older adults. However, you need to remember the process is more important than the results. For instance, your loved one may enjoy transferring soil from one container to another using a rounded scoop or planting and replanting seeds. Provide some safe supplies and let your loved one enjoy the soothing benefits of playing with the dirt.
Try a Simple Craft
Your loved one may also enjoy doing simple creative art projects—for instance, gluing pictures to a piece of poster board to make a fun collage. Your loved one can also string beads to make jewelry, arrange flowers in a vase, or paint what he or she sees through the window.
If your aging loved one is living with Alzheimer’s, having a trained professional caregiver close by can provide you and your family with much-needed peace of mind. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of in-home care. Lincoln families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet your elderly loved one’s unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. Trust your loved one’s care to the professionals at Home Care Assistance. Reach out to one of our compassionate Care Managers today at (916) 226-3737.