When your parent or grandparent develops Alzheimer’s disease you can often be at a loss. Interacting with loved ones who have dementia can prove difficult and emotionally taxing without a game plan.
While there isn’t a one size fits all list of activities that exist, there are plenty of fun and invigorating activities that can engage your loved one and provide mental stimulation. Foster an emotional connection and relieve the anxiety of a senior with Alzheimer’s by trying these activities, courtesy of alzheimers.net.
Browsing old scrapbooks and collections of your loved one’s family photos brings cherished memories bubbling back up. In a flash they’ll remember stirring emotional moments and share stories you may have never heard. Remind them how important they are to you with their prized family photos.
You can also share photos from your own life to keep your loved one engaged and connected. With GrandPad you can view family photos in just a couple of clicks, reliving your family vacation in Hawaii or your son’s (and their grandson’s) first piano recital.
Engaging seniors in do-it-yourself projects is a terrific way to spend time together. The tactile nature of arts and crafts keeps the mind working, and you can reminisce or fill them in on the latest news in your life while you build something side-by-side.
Brain games are great for keeping the brain active and alert. Games like Memory and Sudoku come preloaded on GrandPad, and many are formatted to accommodate two players so you can join in on the fun.
Word games like Hangman, Wordsearch, and Crossword also help keep cognitive function as sharp as it can be. These games are thrilling for seniors, and when you play with them they create new cherished memories from the safety and comfort of home.
As you grew up your parent or grandparent inevitably tried to feed you as much as they could when you’d visit. For a fun group activity, cook or bake a beloved family recipe with your loved one with Alzheimer’s.
Choose a simple recipe and let your time in the kitchen become a game. Feel free to get messy – bigger messes make for better stories!
The GrandPad team would like to remind everyone whose loved ones have Alzheimer’s that there are plenty of fun and engaging activities seniors with Alzheimer’s can fully enjoy.
