As with every other aspect of caring for someone with dementia, it is key to know their background as much as possible when thinking of activities to do with them.
For some people games such as dominoes will work, some people will still be able to carry out activities they did before they had dementia, like gardening or baking.
For people with more severe dementia it can be tricky. An activity I did with my residents many times was something we called balloon therapy, it isn't as fancy as it sounds, basically just throwing/hitting/tapping/bopping a balloon between you. I don't know what it was about this but residents who weren't interested in many things would tap the balloon or hit the balloon back to me.
It is important to know the background of the person who has dementia, as many people will enjoy doing the things they used to, or things that are related to a job they may have had. I have cared for people who were painters and decorators or builders in the past and they enjoyed having paint brushes or cloths to mess with, they also enjoyed having sand paper and would sand down the edges of tables and chairs. Many women I cared for took real joy from tidying up as they had been mothers who stayed at home with their children.
We also had visits from people who provided animal therapy for our residents, we had a 'pat dog' who visits every other week, we also had owls, rabbits and guinea pigs come in, and many of the residents enjoyed this. For visually impaired residents there would be different furs or feathers to touch and feel, and we also had residents who had either been farmers or had pets who enjoyed this. Animals have proved to bring joy to people with all kinds of illnesses, mental and physical, these are some videos I think show how wonderful animal therapy can be.
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