Staying active can bring pleasure to seniors and give them a sense of purpose. The games, crafts, and other meaningful things seniors with dementia participate in can also trigger positive memories, enhance motor skills, and boost emotional health. Therefore, you need to plan your aging loved one’s activities accordingly, ensuring your parent can keep up and enjoy him or herself.
1. Choose from Past Hobbies
Reestablishing old roles is essential because it can bring a sense of familiarity to seniors with dementia. Choose hobbies your parent enjoyed before developing the condition. If your loved one liked to ride a bicycle on the local trail, you can plan cycling outings and include the entire family. You may need to customize the games or tasks based on your loved one’s current abilities. The comforting sense of familiarity may enhance your loved one’s mood and provide the motivation to initiate and complete activities in the future.
Seniors with dementia can optimize their quality of life with the help of a highly trained, experienced professional caregiver. If your senior loved one needs professional dementia care, Richmond caregivers are available around the clock to provide the high-quality care he or she needs. Using the revolutionary Cognitive Therapeutics Method, dementia caregivers can help your loved one stay mentally engaged and delay the progression of the disease.
2. Use Safe Areas
Visual perception and coordination problems are common in older adults with dementia, making it difficult for them to move around as the condition progresses. Ensure your loved one’s activities take place in safe areas. If spending time in the garden, your loved one will need ample space to move around. When your parent is doing arts and crafts, the activity space should be large and uncluttered. Safe working areas should have minimal background noise to prevent confusion.
3. Schedule Accordingly
As dementia progresses, you may notice your loved one experiencing behavioral changes at certain times of the day, especially in the evening hours. Avoid planning activities during these times. Reduce the risk of your loved one becoming restless, irritated, and angry, which could ruin all the fun. Instead, plan activities at times when your loved one is at his or her best mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Seniors with dementia often need assistance with everyday activities so they can age in place in safety and comfort. If your senior loved one has been diagnosed with a serious condition and needs help with tasks like meal prep, transportation, bathing, and grooming, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a leading provider of home care services families can trust. We also offer comprehensive care for seniors with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.
4. Appeal to the Senses
Sensory stimulation is essential for older adults with dementia because it gives them an alternative way to express themselves when they can no longer communicate with words. When you promote activities that boost sensory stimulation, such as smelling fresh flowers while working in a garden or petting animals at an animal shelter, your loved one’s mood and self-esteem may also receive a boost. The sensory experiences may draw attention to a specific item associated with the activities, which can trigger positive memories and responses.
5. Avoid Timed Activities
Being rushed to complete a task could increase the risk of anger and other types of combative behavior in aging adults with dementia. When planning things for your parent to do, make sure the projects don’t have time limits. If your loved one is unable to complete each task within the required time frame, it could be stressful and cause him or her to think about how much his or her health has decreased since being diagnosed with dementia. Choose fun activities that allow your loved one to go at his or her own pace.
If your loved one is living with dementia, having a trained professional caregiver close by can provide you and your family with much-needed peace of mind. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of senior home care. Richmond families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet your elderly loved one’s unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. If your loved one needs assistance with the challenges of aging, reach out to one of our knowledgeable, compassionate Care Managers today at (804) 207-4746.