casinera79

The majority of residents in my community have early dementia to advanced stages of alzheimers. We've managed to keep everyone active by adjusting each activity so all levels can participate. Sing alongs are wonderful! we have several CD's and DVD's (from NASCO and ssww.com and eldersong). The DVD's have the words on the screen which helps if the residents don't remember the words, but know the tune. We use our karaoke machine and hook it up to the big tV so everyone can see the words. Dominoes, Old maid and checkers are very popular (simple is sometimes the best!) as is trivia dice, simple word scrambles or pictionary on the dry erase board. There are several indoor/outdoor sports games that can be played by residents who are standing or sitting, ie: Bean Bag Shuffleboard (can be put on the table or floor), bean bag toss, bowling, ring toss, basketball, and my favorite WII!!! The wii was the best investment we ever made. There are cooking games, carnival games, and the best ones are sports. Our residents with dementia or alzheimers play these more than anyone else in the community. Simple gardening, planting seeds, watering, picking weeds is also a great activity for advanced dementia. the feeling of cool dirt in their fingers and a sense of accomplishment for a completed task is very rewarding and a great sensory stimulator! Have fun and Good Luck!

LaShunda, Our community has a relaxation room, also called our Spa Boutique. In it we have a spa bath, low lighting, aroma therapy, foot spa bath, a variety of lotions for hand massages, and a CD with relaxing "Spa" style music that plays continuously all day. The boutiques are open 24 hours and residents are able to get spa baths or foot baths at their leisure. We also feature a relaxation, or Snoezlen room, for our residents with Alzheimers. That room has a big fluffy couch, LOTS of pillows and blankets with different textures, tools for back, hand, head and feet massages, several relaxing CD's, a projector that displays scenic images, an ocean lamp that displays fish and ocean life on the wall and ceiling, some fiber optic string lights, hand chimes and several stuffed animals. Now, we don't use all of these at once, as that is over-stimulating and not relaxing at all. But one or 2 at a time can be very helpful in re-directing or preventing sun-downing. Bed Bath and beyond or linens and things have lots of these items and usually on sale. Aroma Therapy kits can be ordered from most senior supply companies like Nasco or SSWW.com. these sites also have LOADS of indoor games that anyone can play, regardless of the age or disability. I hope this is helpful!

Lisa I used to be a talent buyer as well as a booking agent. This odd job from my college days, strangely enough, prepared me for buying talent for my community in my activity career. You've done the right things so far by gently offering this bad entertainer some ideas in how to make her performance better. You gave her a chance to improve. But now that you've given her a chance and she hasn't taken it, it's time to move on. Your residents deserve better and it's ok to tell her that. Perhaps you can let her down easy by explaining that if she takes your tips for improvements, you'll invite her back in a few months for a trial run. Good luck! Maria

Deana Do you have a theme for the next month for which you are decorating? A theme will be a guide for your board. for example, each month at our community we have a theme. June was fashion month and may was dancing. July is going to be travel. For May, we bought old records from a thrift store, fun music/dancing-themed fabric from hobby lobby, and got some 50's musical notes and records from party city. In June, our boards had small wire statues pinned to the board as well as a mannequin standing next to it. we found little straw hats at the dollar tree that were easy to pin. We have 3 cottages in our community, each with their own calendar, so we have to be creative and make each one different. July's board has a lot of dimensions with a passport book, maps, goggles, camera, etc. Adding little items that pop can make your board 3-dimensional and fun. The dollar tree, 99cent store, and hobby lobby all have great materials for a low price. If you want to make your July board all about Independence day, these stores have lots of patriotic flags, scrapbooking papers, stars, etc. depending on where the board is located, maybe you can add some string lights. Have fun with it! I hope this helps.