Alzheimer`s Activities Expert

Before or after you watch or recite Casey at the Bat, what else can you do? We talked about having a baseball game. I said that a beach ball may be too heavy for someone to hit. If this is the case, use a balloon. Balloons are quite light.

Obviously, your residents are not going be running the bases, so you have to be the commenter to make the activity exciting.

You also could have a discussion about baseball See this post about Baseball Day 

You can also rewrite the poem or write another poem. See this post about writing a limerick

You can play baseball trivia or have a spelling bee.

Divide the group in two. Each time a person gives a correct answer or spells a word . correctly, a run is scored. You would be surprised how many people with dementia can still spell even though they can barely speak or usually do not make any sense when they talk.

More tomorrow
Remember in order to see the poem, click here 

Baseball season has started. Casey at the Bat Day is in early June, however reading this well loved poem is an ideal activity now, in June, anytime during baseball season or anytime. 

For some reason, people with dementia and others in long term care seem to enoy this poem. Reading it can lead to all sorts of discussions and activities


This musical adaptation of the reading of the poem will give your audience some music appreciation and something to do when you are not available to run an activity

This dramatization of the poem will give your audience something to talk about for days and is a good meaningful use of your residents’ or loved one’s time

What else can you do?
**Have a game of baseball Using a wide inflatable bat
and beach ball This is best because visual impairment can be a problem in those with dementia. If you do not have an inflatable bat, the group members can use their hands or arms as bats. If the beach ball is too heavy the use…..Come back tomorrow for the answer and more

Click here for the poem itself

I will be joining my friends on the dementia unit of our facility this Easter. I plan to make activities fun and meaningful for them. As with all activities you have to go with the flow.

First it is hard to tell how many family members will be coming in or taking their loved one(s) out for the holiday. I encourage family members to take their loved one(s) out for a little while if that is possible. Even a short ride in the car can be nice

However there are those folks with dementia who would get agitated, confused, or not want to come back. For those individuals, I invite them to join us in our activities or have a special visit with their loved ones or friends.

Sometimes it is hard for family members and friends to figure out what to talk about. I suggest you have a visitors packet for them to use.
Here is a good book that will help you with that task.

Adorable Photographs

Come back for more you can share

When you are discussing Patriot’s Day or any day for that matter, if the questions you ask are too hard then give the person with dementia a choice of two possible answers

Or you can say:I think it is……..

Or do not ask questions. Just make a statement with the last word or two left out. See if the person with dementia spontaneously says something to complete the phrase.

You can also play the sensory matching game adding some patriotic items like small flags or items that are red, white and blue.

What about reading part of The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. You certainly could have a side discussion about Boston, the Revolutionary War or horses. 

Come back tomorrow for more

I love holidays and here we have another opportunity to celebrate one.

I especially love patriotic holidays because most people with dementia identify strongly with patriotism.

Even though Patriot’s Day is a lesser known holiday, there is no reason why you can not celebrate in grand or not so grand fashion.

As with all patriotic holidays,discuss symbols of patriotism.

I like to have a flag available.
Then I like to ask questions about the flag.
Here are some possible questions
*What color is the flag or are on the flag?
        Side question
            What other things are:
                  Red
                   White and/or 
                     Blue ?
*What shape is the flag?
          Side question:
             What other things are that shape?
Again if these questions are too hard then………Come back tomorrow for the answer and for more ideas.

Besides,Easter bingo, what other ways can you make the usual ordinary activities special just for Easter?

*Have an Easter trivia session or a trivia contest.
*Talk about favorite Easter treats
*Have a pre-Easter party featuring everyones’ favorite treats
*Have an Easter song sing a long
*Make simple Easter hats
*Try on various Easter bonnetts
*Have a reminiscing group all about, How did we celebrate Easter when we were kids?
*Invite some youngsters to share in the pre Easter festivities
*Talk about favorite recipes for Easter
*Have group members explore an Easter sensory basket.

If you want more details on any of these activities, please leave a comment.

See you next time

Have you tried Easter bingo yet?

I as always try to make every activity fun, entertaining and multilevel.

So why not combine two favorite activities. Most residents love bingo. Most people enjoy the fun part of Easter and just about everyone likes to win a little cash. So what do we have,  Easter bingo!


What is Easter bingo?, you ask

Well here is what I do.I buy some of those plastic Easter eggs and I load each one with lots of change. Then when we play bingo around Easter time, I give the first winner of each game, a plastic egg full of change.
See the smiles all around for yourself 

We have kind of a unique way of playing bingo. We play progressive bingo. That is we do not clear the cards until we have at least three winners. Ordinarily each person who wins gets a quarter per game. I like to have lots of winners. I have many kinds of cards and chips for ease of use. I also have lots of helpers because sometimes folks with dementia need help and a gentle reminder to stay on task.

If money is not appropriate for a prize, I may give them a stuffed animal.

If they just enjoy playing with the chips with no regard for what is being called, that is fine too.

The main thing is to have fun no matter what time of year it is or what holiday we are celebrating.

     Happy Easter to everyone!

As I said in the last post, I make a card for the residents to distribute to the nurses on staff. This, as you might expect, makes for good relationships between the residents and the staff. I like to foster positive relationships with as many groups of people as possible. Whenever there is an opportunity, I take advantage of it.

Before the card distribution, we have a nice discussion about the nurses’ jobs. I ask if the residents know all the things that the nurses do for them and others in the facility. Before the discussion is over, everyone is so thankful for all the nurses.

Here is an example of the card I made. It is pretty simple, but it gets the message across. 
Have the higher functioning residents fold the cards or make their own cards.

As many of you know, May 6 to May 12 is National Nurses Week. This is a time to honor your nurseas whether you work with or employ them.

We at Hunt Nursing and Rehabilitation Center honor our nurses not only this week but throughout the year.

I promised many of you a posting about why nurses should be honored.
                                            
               

                                   
                                   
            Nurses, Lifting Spirits, Touching Lives

You care. You tend the sick, you observe, record, assess, instruct. You listen. You supervise, plan schedules, assign duties. You watch. You’re quick in emergencies, compassionate with suffering, expert with complicated procedures. You respond. Your experience is more varied than we can list on this page, your presence more valuable than any job description can quantify. You’re a helper, a healer, a friend. And to us at Hunt, you are at the very heart of our commitment to resident -centered care.

                                   Thank You!
                                   
                                   

Easter is one of the most important and holy days during the year. Therefore why not have a truly special spiritual circle for Easter for those with Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias and other long term care individuals
                                   
                                    
Start with this Easter Prayer
    God of mercy, you wash away our sins in water, you give us a new birth in the Spirit, and redeem us in the blood of Christ. As we celebrate Christ’s resurrection, increase our awareness of these blessings, and renew your gift of life within us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AmenAs a part of Easter tradition, people enjoy the soothing melodious songs on Easter, while having their delicious Easter feast. Easter season also gives a warm welcome to the refreshing springtime. Thus, songs on the theme of spring can also be heard in the music

Here is a list of some famous songs for Easter: