Listening to music, dancing, or contact with babies, children or animals provide positive feelings. People with dementia often have excellent memories of past events, and looking through old photos, memorabilia and books can help the person to recall earlier times.
Doing puzzles, such as jigsaws or crosswords, can provide mental stimulation for a person with dementia. Solving simple puzzles may help to give a person with dementia: a sense of achievement. improved self-esteem.
For men and women with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, it can be especially beneficial. Watching movies and TV shows can help keep their brain active, which can stimulate positive memories, improve mood, and even increase socialization.
Reassure the person verbally, and possibly with arm touches or hand-holding if this feels appropriate. Let the person know that they are safe. It may help to provide reassurance that the person is still cared about. They may be living somewhere different from where they lived before, and need to know they're cared for.
increasing confusion or poor judgment. greater memory loss, including a loss of events in the more distant past. needing assistance with tasks, such as getting dressed, bathing, and grooming. significant personality and behavior changes, often caused by agitation and unfounded suspicion.
Reality TV shows are also easy to follow for seniors with Alzheimer's or dementia. Shows such as American Idol, Dancing With the Stars and American Pickers don't have a running plot, making them easy forms of entertainment for everyone. Ambient videos may also interest patients with Alzheimer's.
People with dementia begin to feel lost, confused, and insecure. Attention-seeking behavior displayed by needy elderly people with dementia is their way of asking for help.
I'm going to discuss five of the most basic ones here: 1) Don't tell them they are wrong about something, 2) Don't argue with them, 3) Don't ask if they remember something, 4) Don't remind them that their spouse, parent or other loved one is dead, and 5) Don't bring up topics that may upset them.
Fidget blankets or quilts offer comfort for our residents living with dementia and are laptop-sized, providing sensory and tactile stimulation for an individual.
The level of game complexity a senior with dementia can handle may depend on his or her condition, but chess, checkers, backgammon, dominoes, Monopoly, Scrabble, Battleship, Sorry!, and Yahtzee are games that most seniors likely already are familiar with, are easy to set up, and are still fun.
Verbal aggression/threats (54%) and physical aggression/agitation (42%) constitute the 2 most frequent behavioral disturbances reported in patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.
Suitable finger foods include: small sandwiches, cubes of cheese, meatballs, fruit platters or small fruit muffins. Ideally, finger foods in a dementia menu wouldn't frequently include party pies, sausage rolls and other common party foods, as these lack adequate nutrition.
The average life expectancy figures for the most common types of dementia are as follows: Alzheimer's disease – around eight to 10 years. Life expectancy is less if the person is diagnosed in their 80s or 90s. A few people with Alzheimer's live for longer, sometimes for 15 or even 20 years.
Introduction: The five-word test (5WT) is a serial verbal memory test with semantic cuing. It is proposed to rapidly evaluate memory of aging people and has previously shown its sensitivity and its specificity in identifying patients with AD.
Stage 6. In stage 6 of dementia, a person may start forgetting the names of close loved ones and have little memory of recent events. Communication is severely disabled and delusions, compulsions, anxiety, and agitation may occur.
Middle-stage Alzheimer's is typically the longest stage and can last for many years. As the disease progresses, the person with Alzheimer's will require a greater level of care.
These factors lead to the biggest complaints from people who are living with dementia: feelings of loneliness and boredom. Maintaining social connections for these individuals is imperative, but how to do so leaves many caregivers at a loss of what to do.
People living with dementia have the same emotional needs now that they did before the onset of dementia. They need opportunities to engage in meaningful activity, be free from anxiety and feel as though they still matter – especially during times of change or naturally stressful situations.
Some of the more common triggers for dementia like a change in environment, having personal space invaded, or being emotionally overwhelmed may be easier to handle if you mentally practice your response before you react.