Activities for someone with Alzheimer's

I recommend gardening if that is possible.  Also putting photos in albums.  My mother is pretty far gone, but we do have a pleasant time going through old pictures and talking about old times.

My mother loves to peel and slice apples for apple pies.  It's a big help to put them in bags for the freezer.  Dusting with a Swiffer or sweeping the floors.   I can relate, as my mother is insatiable in that respect....she wants to be busy and productive.  She can still chop and slice and put a salad together for dinner, with some guidance and support.  Watching old family videos might also be entertaining.   Is reading still meaningful?  A new pile of magazines from the public library could work.

Polishing silver or pewter if you have it.  Sorting photos and placing them in albums. Anything related to housekeeping.

These are great tips. I hadn't thought about most of them. Sorting photos is a great idea. I think I have about a thousand stuck in old boxes. That's something my mother will enjoy and will be a big help to me. Polishing silver will also help. Another chore I won't have to do. Thanks!

Photographs! What a great idea! It's a really good time to have her help identify the people and the places in them, and what a neat, fun thing to do! Perhaps even make a small scrapbook with them.

Hello all

                  I am a activities co-ordinator in a nursing home for  people who have dementia  from middle to late stages.

ideas : towels cut down to flannel size ( or new flannels ) of favorite colors to fold/smooth.

collage's of  happy pastimes then framed.

pastry making.

a container of soft sand to run fingers/hands through,

theraputic music of the sea/garden & so on.

different size baskets to fold & put things in.

old time music to listen to whilst tidying up,

just a few ideas.......

These are all great ideas, but you are missing another GREAT one that Alzheimers women in particular benefit from--sorting jewlery!  Not only does this have similar sentimental ties as pictures to share stories over, it offers your loved one th chance to recreate the same emotions she has always had with trying on jewlery. 

When I worked in activites we had a huge container full of them that were donated or found at flea markets to let the ladies look at.  It's a huge hit!  Really great activity.

For those who are further in the stages as well, you can have them sort the colors out and sizes too to help stimulate the brain. 

nicoleintakegirl,

jewelry is an excellent idea, yard sales you can always find inexpensive jewelry, odds and ends to buy to add to their collection.  i wear a pretty gold cross with a diamond in the center my husband gave me for my birthday several years ago.  my lady i stay with admires it every time she sees me, i was going to wait until her birthday this month, but decided not to wait, i found one when i was shopping at the mall almost identical to mine, it even had a pair of earrings to match.  i gave it to her the other day, she was feeling a bit down, she was truly thrilled, just like a small child with a gift, you would have thought i gave her the "world".  she never takes it off.  she even remembers i gave it to her, very special.

Patcholi, Nicole, and star,

Those are great ideas!  I think they pertain not only to those with Alzheimer's but the elderly in general as well.  Thank you for sharing them! 

Sone things we did with my Mother was we would run out of dish towels to fold and we would have some that we got out when she wasn't looking and towsel them up again, maybe even throw them in the dryer for a couple of minutes to warm them so its like a fresh load of laundry and let her fold them or washclothes.  We also would dump the silverware drawer and let her straighten/refill it, if it isn't like you want it fix it later.  Let her wash dishes.  Sweep floors, color in coloring books, put puzzles together, straighten plasticware in your cabinet, matching lids with containers, clip coupons if she is still capable of using scissors safely, send birthday cards etc to family and friends,  Peel potatoes or other veggies if she can.  I actually went out and bought several different kinds of dried beans and dumped them all in a bowl and got out several bowls for her to sort the beans into so that I could cook beans that evening (whether I did or not)  then when she wasn't looking I would dump them all back in the bowl and save them for another day.   Stringing beads.  I found 3 coffee cans of beads at a yard sale and my son and Mom loved doing this together.  I bought some of the shiny colored decorative rocks that come in bags like marbles for vases and the like and they both loved sorting them and just fooling with them, because they were shiny and smooth and the colors were bright that I picked.    Combing or fixing her hair.  Dusting nick nacks.  Just sit them out a few at a time.  Dusting shelves, etc.  My Mom would work for 10 or 15 minutes just dusing one coffee table.  Watering plants if they are outside.  If inside you could have a mess since it is likely that the same ones will get watered more than once.  Deadheading plants and removing dead leaves.  Mom loved plants and loved to do this right up to the end almost.  We also had birdfeeders that we kept full so she could watch the birds and porch swing which she loved to swing in.    Crossword puzzles if she can still do them is wonderful.  My aunt who has Alzheimer's loves to do them.  This is some of the things we did with Mom.  Some things you have to do with them or they can't do because usually they have forgotten how then the frustration and agitation starts in.  It is usually best to change what they are doing and get them onto something else or maybe a little quiet time. Mom loved music so she would tap on the piano from time to time and we would sing with her.. She was able to sing almost up to the end and remembered the words of the songs.  The also liked paper dolls.  Later we got her a couple of baby dolls and she loved them just like they were real.   Hope this will help you.  Good Luck and God Bless you for helping with her and keeping her home.  Sincerely HJP