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Activities for Demenita Patients in Assisted Living

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, engaging a family member with dementia in activities can be frustrating. However, dementia patients can participate in simply coordination activities. These patients also enjoy sharing their knowledge with other people. As the patient is introduced to something he used to enjoy, stress and agitation are reduced. Activities that tap into the dementia patient's past help with physical and emotional functioning inside an assisted living center.

  1. Feeling Useful

    • The object of this activity is to improve hand eye coordination and reduce agitation. Have a table that is big enough for dementia patients to sit around. Put a small ball in front of one of the dementia patients and tell him to roll the ball to someone else at the table. Encourage the residents to keep the ball moving as long as possible. This should keep their attention and calm them down.

    Past/Present

    • Find out what the resident used to be interested in before he was diagnosed with dementia. For instance, the resident may have played the piano for a hobby. Place the object in front of him or take him to the object. An example is having the resident sit down in front of a piano. Give him a half hour to do whatever he wants with the object. This is a way of calming the resident by introducing something he used to love into his current life. Most likely, if the resident used to play the piano then he will instinctively start playing the keys and find stress relief in the object.

    Teach

    • According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, dementia patients enjoy instructing people how to do things. An excellent way to have the patient teach is by giving him a book of pictures to help teach the student how to prepare a food recipe. The patient may need some verbal prompting to finish the activity. Allowing the dementia patient to teach enables him to establish a social role and encourages positive emotions and motivation.

    Memory Game

    • Encourage the dementia patients to sit around in a circle and offer a memory. As the dementia patient loses focus, ask questions about his memory. Sharing these recollections exercises the patient's brain functions and helps him remember his past.

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