jmorris13

Try pet therapy. I've never seen a resident who didn't perk up when a pet came in. Also we have a church school across the street from our building and the children sometime come over just for visit and usually bring something they have colored or made for each resident. The residents love to listen to them read and sing also.

Hi, I am 54 myself and an activity director. My children are not far from 25. Just a little older. For me and I think for my children, social activities are so important. A thought that I had was to find volunteers who are close to the age of these younger residents. Find out what your residents interests are and try to taylor something specifically for them. A volunteer could help facilitate the activity and you would have more time to spend with the older residents. If possible, could these residents also assist you in activities with the older ones? Just a thought. Good luck.

We have 11 folks in our memory care unit. And this includes my own mom. They vary in what stage they are in. I do know that it takes about 3 weeks for them to become adjusted. And it requires a lot of patience. The best thing is to keep them busy and engaged. When things get quiet, that's when the trouble starts! We are fortunate in the fact that we have a wonderful psychiatrist who sees our residents in the building. She has helped them with meds and has given the familiies and us some ideas too. Good luck and let me know what happens...

Men's activities are a challenge for me. We just have a couple of single men and the rest are married and do most everything with their wives. Any suggestions?