Archive for the ‘Alzheimer’s Activities’ Category
Posted on September 6, 2011 - by Nurse Virginia
ART – A GREAT ACTIVITY FOR THE CONFUSED ELDER
Carl never really studied art, but that doesn’t hold him back these days from painting. Sometimes he paints for hours, over and over on the same tree, grass, sky or clouds. He is so engrossed that he rarely speaks and forgets to eat as well. His wife Barb just interrupts with the suggestion of a meal. Because Carl is very confused now, it is much simpler to say “How would you like some meat loaf?” than “What would you like to eat Carl?” Giving a suggestion is so much more effective that expecting Carl to come up with an idea on his own.
Barb doesn’t want Carl to come out of that “place” he goes to when he paints. So Barb tries not to stress him with too many questions or choices. Participating in art is an opportunity to do something that is neither right or wrong. It just is, you may like it or not. This makes it a perfect activity for someone who is confused or has early dementia. You can’t be wrong.
Art nurtures the well-being of the confused elder, and in many cases brings to the elder a connection with the past. Over the years school districts have added or reduced art programs depending on the districts budget. But for the elders of today, they would have had some instruction in art in grade school.
Instead of this being a totally new experience the elder is really relearning a pleasant activity from the past. Relearning is so much easier for an elder, especially an elder who is also confused, than learning an activity that is brand new to them.
Painting doesn’t make Carl more appropriate in social situations, or in any way fit in better in group conversations. At a recent family event, as people were discussing an afghan someone had just made. Carl joined in with “that blue is in my picture.” When the group knows what Carl’s challenges are, his observations are very much welcomed.
Virginia Garberding, R.N.
Director of Education, The Wealshire, Lincolnshire, Illinois
Author: Please Get To Know Me – Aging with Dignity and Relevance
Posted on August 31, 2011 - by Nurse Virginia
WHEN WATCHING TV IS GOOD OR HARMFUL FOR THE CONFUSED ELDER
TV THAT IS HARMFUL
Natural disasters, tornados, hurricanes, flooding, drought, extreme heat, wildfires, blizzard and more tornadoes, 2011 has really been something and it’s not over yet. Roads and highways that have all but disappeared, being broken up by flood waters. People stranded, and now whole communities stranded with roads and towns that have become lakes.
That isn’t even counting all the news footage of terrorist strikes, marches, angry crowds, war, revolutions – and we get to see it all on TV, on some stations all day long.
Even a little of this is too much for the confused elder. The confused person cannot tell that what is being televised could be hundreds if not thousands of miles away, or right outside the door. When people are hurt the confused elder could think it is a family member being hurt or that the danger is to them.
Negative TV, negative news and dramas of killing, danger and mayhem need to be avoided by the elder who is having a problem telling the difference between the TV and their present situation.
TV THAT IS ENTERTAINING AND NOT HARMFUL FOR THE CONFUSED ELDER
Good TV for the confused elder? The current trend towards competitions- the best singer, the best dancer, how much do you think this costs – are shows the confused person can enjoy with the rest of the family. The elder can give their opinion if the singer/juggler/dancer is good or bad. The confused person can laugh along with the family even if they don’t always know what the joke is.
These shows are in the moment right with the elder. No need to remember a plot, or characters or follow a story line. Just sit back have a little snack and enjoy the show.
Virginia Garberding, R.N.
Director of Education, The Wealshire, Lincolnshire, Illinois
Author: Please Get To Know Me – Aging with Dignity and Relevance
Posted on February 2, 2010 - by Nurse Virginia
Natural Disasters – When Watching TV is Bad for the Elderly with Alzheimer’s Disease
When the TV is always on!
Some people live with the TV always on, like background music. The caregiver may start their day with turning on the TV to catch the morning news and then just leave the TV on. A few years ago my husband and I owned but didn’t operate a small assisted living home in Florida. We had residents up to age 102 years, but they all had some level of confusion or dementia. Our biggest challenge was caregivers. Even though the home had a large beautiful four season’s room over looking the backyard pool. The residents spent their days getting up, getting dressed, eating and then sitting in the living room in front of a TV all day with all of the drapes closed so they could see the picture better.
This wasn’t the way I wanted to care for the elderly, so we had to close that home. I pictured a home where the drapes were open, people moved around the house helping make lunch – not only eating, sitting in the four seasons and enjoying nature and maybe a simple board game. And most of all soft music playing, not the constant drone of the TV.
Negative TV!
Bad News! Sad News! That is repeated over and over throughout the day. When news breaks that is frightening, like an earthquake or flood, some major disaster, the confused person might think it involves a loved one or themselves.
Crime dramas – soap operas, stories of personal tragedy where people are crying, yelling and angry or screaming in fear. People with Alzheimer’s disease no longer see the difference between the picture on the TV and reality.
Positive TV!
Shows from the past that the person always enjoyed. Lawrence Welk Show, always the favorite. Wheel of Fortune hasn’t changed its format for years and so remains very familiar. Re-runs of shows from early TV days, Andy Griffith, Dick Van Dyke and always I Love Lucy.
Make it a happy day – turn off the TV.
Virginia Garberding, R N.
Director of Education, The Wealshire, Lincolnshire, Illinois
Author: Please Get To Know Me – Aging with Dignity and Relevance
Posted on January 4, 2010 - by Nurse Virginia
COMFORT TOY A GREAT ACTIVITY FOR ELDERLY WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Sometimes a doll will help elderly with Alzheimer’s according to British Psychological Society
Nursing home in UK studied the effects of giving dolls to Alzheimer’s residents and presented findings at The British Psychological Society Conference in July of 2006. The nursing home found that the dolls seemed to reduce agitation or distress, improve communication problems and make residents less withdrawn. The nursing home staff seemed to feel that the introduction of the dolls with certain elderly Alzheimer’s residents improver quality of life.
Dolls at The Wealshire, Lincolnshire, Illinois
While some elderly residents have gone through periods of time when we would always see them with their doll, the vast majority of elderly do not carry comfort toys. But when the elderly are in late stages of Alzheimer’s disease, having something to hold can comfort those with limited psychosocial interaction. When the elderly have lost their ability to communicate verbally, they may still be able to connect through touch.
Great alternative to doll – “Twiddle Cat”
While a doll can increase some anxiety in elderly with dementia, because at times they think it is real and are worried for the doll. The Twiddle Cat provides not only the comfort and warmth of a doll but provides for the elder a safe activity. The elderly can finger the ribbons, wooden beads, bag of marbles and soft satin pocket while appreciating the joy of movement of their hands and doing something.
The “cat” is a stuffed muff with a squeeze ball in the center of the muff. It has a sweet cat face on one end with ears and a soft tail at the other end. The cute little “cat” provides for increased communication between residents and staff. The staff then can initiate conversation with the resident about their cat.
The Twiddle Cat is a great comfort toy and a great on-going independent activity.
See the Twiddle Cat @ web site – Best Alzheimer’s Products
See also Blogs here on: Alzheimer’s Activities
Virginia Garberding, R.N.
Director of Education, The Wealshire, Lincolnshire, Illinois
Author: Please Get To Know Me – Aging with Dignity and Relevance
Posted on December 12, 2009 - by Nurse Virginia
Holiday Activities for the Confused Elderly That Prompt Reminiscing
Look at Christmas Lights
This was a big Christmas tradition years ago, when I was growing up. In several neighborhoods in Chicago, the blocks were all set up with holiday themes. Cars would be bumper to bumper crawling around those blocks just to see every house with a lighted candy cane. The whole family would be bundled up, in the car and off to see the lights.
Now almost every homeowner has invested part of their decoration budget into outdoor decorations. No one has to go very far to see amazing Christmas light shows. Some communities also have large displays, where for a modest amount you can once again crawl along bumper to bumper at peak times.
Bundle up Grandma and Grandpa, pick up some hot chocolate, and just go for a drive to see the lights.
Go to the mall and watch the children sit on Santa’s lap
Every mall has a Santa and a line of children waiting to see him. “Children watching” in general is a great activity for the elderly, but especially so at Christmas time. Being in the environment of people shopping, holiday decorations, Christmas music playing and children seeing Santa can help the confused elderly connect to emotional memories.
Being in the mall can have the added benefit of providing a safe place to walk and the so important exercise the elderly need. Make sure you are going at times of lower activity – a crowd is not the place to be for a person unsure of what is going on around them.
Christmas church services and pageants
Find out when all your local churches are having special Christmas services. Being a part of a congregation singing carols is a normalization activity for the confused elderly. When the church is decorated with large trees, lots of lights, Christmas music, the choir singing, all of these things prompt emotional memories.
Many elderly with Alzheimer’s disease who have lost their ability for conversation continue to be able to sing. Especially long remembered carols that are stored in many different areas of the brain are still available to the elder as emotional memories.
(See also: November 30, 2009 -Elderly Christians need their Church)
Look at Christmas Trees
If weather permits, go to a Christmas tree lot and walk around critiquing the trees. Which one looks good on all sides, which one is more of a Charlie Brown tree.
Department stores, home stores even hardware stores all have displays of decorated Christmas trees to see. Trees with different themes and various choices of ornaments and lights. This year they have even brought back the old fashioned large colored ceramic bulbs I grew up with. These are the bulbs I put on my tree this year, we all enjoy the things we remember as children.
Think about your family’s traditions and how you can still bring the spirit of the holiday to your elder. Even if it just sitting together and listening to “The Little Drummer Boy.”
Virginia Garberding, R.N.
Director of Education, The Wealshire
Author: Please Get To Know Me – Aging with Dignity and Relevance
Posted on July 10, 2009 - by Nurse Virginia
Caregiver Tips: Activities for the confused elderly in the home
Activities start with knowing the person.
I just met a daughter who had put together a “gardening cart” for her elderly father. I could tell by the smile on her face as she described it, the joy she felt in doing this for Dad. He had always enjoyed gardening and now in his wheelchair, sitting at a cart just the right hight for the chair. This elderly man could have all the tools of the trade right at his reach, and continue to enjoy an activity that had been so meaningful to him.
A home traveling activity.
The beauty of the garden cart for that elderly man was it could move. He could garden outside or inside any time of the year. There are many kinds of carts available to turn into activity centers for the home. Small tool carts for men made out of light weight rubber materials available at hardware stores or catalogs. Kitchen carts for women that could be turned into any number of craft centers.
The confused elderly who want to continue to “work.”
I have seen elderly doctors who in the Nursing Home really enjoy being included in staff activities. We have put together patient charts, just to hand to the doctor to give to him the chance to feel involved.
JCPenny catalogue has what they call a “Billpayer’s Desk” on wheels, that could be perfect for the former office worker. It has compartments for pens, paper clips, folders a large file drawer. Many hours of activity could happen at his desk.
Finding that perfect activity for the confused elderly.
Caregiving always comes back to really knowing the person you are caring for. What were their interests?
Puttting together that perfect activity center for they elder can be very rewarding for the caregiver as well as the elder. I know that from the smile on the face of the “gardener’s daughter.”
Posted on June 12, 2009 - by Nurse Virginia
Alzheimer’s disease, not a part of normal aging memory loss or a “Senior Moment.”
Distractions prevent forming new memories.
You walk into the house, your husband is calling to you “What are we having for dinner?” The phone is ringing and the TV is on at peak volume. You put down your groceries and run to get the phone in the bedroom, where you can hear. You put down your car keys next to the phone. The next morning when you need to run out to a doctor’s appointment, you can’t find your keys.
Distractions, they are all around us. It is so much harder to set down a new memory, when we are surrounded by distractions. But the first thing an older person worries about when they forget, is that this might be the first sign of Alzheimer’s disease.
4 Differences between normal aging memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.
• When trying to remember a past event, the senior with normal memory loss will often remember parts of the event and often at a later time be able to remember the whole event. The person with Alzheimer’s disease will rarely have better recall at a later time. And it doesn’t really bother them unless someone keeps calling it to their attention that they can’t remember.
• A senior with normal aging memory loss will usually be helped by keeping a detailed calendar, writing themselves notes and reminders. While this will also help the person with Alzheimer’s disease, gradually these aids will no longer help.
• A senior, with normal aging memory loss, will be able to follow written directions, while the person with Alzheimer’s disease will gradually be unable to do this.
• A person with Alzheimer’s disease will eventually be unable to identify money. Will forget how to dress themselves, feed themselves and do all the things we refer to as Activities of Daily Living.
The next time you can’t find your car keys, think about the many young people who loose their keys as well.
Posted on April 7, 2009 - by Nurse Virginia
Caregiver Tips: Activities to do when the confused elder you care for is a man.
Know the person – what did the elderly man you care for enjoy before he became confused?
Watching funny DVDs together can be an especially wonderful connection for a father with his son.
My father-in-law suffered from dementia. My husband, Jerry, knew his dad had enjoyed Laurel and Hardy films as well as those of Ma and Pa Kettle–the comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. Jerry found as many of those old movies as he could and brought them to the nursing home. On his visits, Jerry didn’t have to carry on long one-sided conversations.
When Jerry visited, he would tell his dad what was new with him and the family. After that, he put on an old movie and his dad laughed every time Jerry would laugh. We never knew how much he followed the story, or even “saw” the slap-stick comedy. But he could still enjoy that comfortable, normal activity of sitting with his son and laughing.
4 Activites for the confused elderly man:
• Watch a DVD on travel, sports, history – whatever the man likes.
• Have something from his past interests – fishing pole, anything from a collection he had ( my dad had a tie collection that he enjoyed looking at),
• Read sports magazines together or look at new car brochures. Both are excellent opportunities for conversation.
• Most men like to do something physical. do that but keep it simple. Toss a ball or throw bean bags. These kinds of activities are also great to do with children.
Book excerpt from: Please Get To Know Me – Aging with Dignity and Relevance by Virginia Garberding with Cecil Murphey
available at: amazon.com – barnesandnoble.com – christianbook.com or see right sidebar direct from publisher.
Posted on April 2, 2009 - by Nurse Virginia
Alzheimer’s Disease: “Oh happy happy wedding day” when the delusions of confused elder seem so real.
Alzheimer’s in the Nursing Home
I was told by the Director of Acitivites that we had a “situation” in one of the households. When I got there, there they were, sitting together so incredibly happy in their shared delusion. Bertha all dressed up in a beautiful red and pink flowered organza dress. Hair carefully fixed and bright red lipstick on. Next to her equally glowing her best friend Sally in a black two piece with a black sequenced jacket.
Greeting them with a “Wow, do you both look great, what is the occasion.” With irresistible smiles they both informed me that Bertha was getting married today.
Past elder care for the confused.
There was a time about 20 years ago when the wisdom of the time said that you needed to re-orient people with Alzheimer’s disease to the present. And many time that present would be very hurtful. Thinking of those days now and the current reality. How hurtful would it be to say “You are 84 years old, have Alzheimer’s disease, live in a nursing home and no one is getting married today.”
Current Alzheimer’s care says – join them in the moment.
But this is a kinder, gentler time and so we try to work with their reality and join them in the moment. The first thing we needed to do was identify her “intended” and find out where he is in this scenario. The staff member returns with the information that Bob is only expecting a visit from his son today, he has no other plans.
The consensus is reached that we need to provide some kind of event for these sweet, happy ladies today. So we plan a get together for the residents that afternoon where we will have a few festive decorations, some refreshments, and a little wine we use on Friday afternoons for “Happy Hour.” Then we will have a short speech by the director of Activities about friendship and everyone will toast the happy friends.
And so it went. No one was told that they were wrong, old or confused.
Oh happy, happy friendship day!
Posted on March 19, 2009 - by Nurse Virginia
Caregiver Tips: Don’t forget the music, elderly or disabled people enjoy music just like everyone else
Person centered music for the confused elderly.
Everyone knows how certain music can bring back pleasant memories, and put you back in the moment. While some people enjoy very specific music many people enjoy a variety of music. The important thing is to learn what the elder you are caring for likes.
Many caregivers find that playing certain music can make the person they care for more cooperative and generally happier.
8 Benefits of music for the confused elder.
• Music is an energizer – put on a little high energy music with a good beat and sees how quicker you can accomplish a task. Caregivers have found that energizing music helps during bathing, dressing and grooming.
• Music can be used as a distraction from pain. Hospice caregivers are well known for using music.
• Music has been known to lower blood pressure and increase relaxation. Knowing the person you are caring for and what music they find relaxing is important.
• Music increases a sense of well being and improves self-esteem.
• Music many times will decrease anxiety – try music before medication.
• Music is a natural motivator and can provide a sense of control.
• Christian music provides comfort, peace as well as opportunity for reminiscing.
• Music provides JOY.
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