dinandez

The men in my day center enjoy any woodworking craft such as sanding crafts so that they can be painted and eventually donated. We've also put together model airplanes which they enjoyed as well. Basically, any activity that is meaningful such as charity or something that requires them to think.

We had a contest once where participants had to guess the weather and what it would be each day of the month. The person who guessed the most days correctly won a prize. I like the reminiscing idea and think you can also make it a bit goofy too by mentioning the book/movie "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" and asking what food they would like to rain from the sky if we lived in a world like that. Maybe even collect a wide assortment of snacks beforehand to make that conversation more social. The conversation can also segway into favorite childhood books or books they read to their kids.

We have some "Improv cards" where the participants pick a card identifying the -type of person they are imitating (ie: fireman or a hippy) -the time they are acting in -where they are acting -and the mood they're acting in That game has always been really popular with our group and doesn't take a lot of preparation.

I work in a day center with participants with mild to moderate memory loss. I've found you can do almost any activity you would do with a senior group as long as you adapt the activity. For instance, we play the game "loaded questions" but don't use the board. When you remove some of the steps to an activity, it makes it easier and often just as much fun. We also do drama club so long as the person's lines are all highlighted so they can follow along more easily. Let me know if you need other ideas!

I also suspect that must be "sing." You can also put quotes or jokes in the hat that the group will read together.

We have a book club and I've found it's best to read some short stories together like those from the Chicken Soup books. Those stories are very popular with the group and promote some great discussion and opportunities to reminisce. Be sure to pause every few paragraphs to prompt them with a discussion question to ensure they are paying attention and understanding the story.

Inter-generational activities work very well for high-functioning dementia clients. Even if they don't want to work directly with children, they can perhaps put together a care package for some students. Also, it's great to coordinate visits with teachers. Many teachers are open to bringing their students for a visit as the experience can benefit students too. Perhaps they can also lead a group like a men's groups or a women's group. We also use our high-functioning dementia participants to help greet other clients- especially prospects. It makes them feel like they are helping as well as encouraging them to socialize. Hope this helps!

I'm not sure what stage of Dementia your participants are in, but I work in a memory care center for mild to moderate memory loss. I've found in my 2.5 years there that you can do a lot of the same activities that you would do with other seniors, but you have to remove a few steps. For example, we have the game Loaded Questions and we just play with the cards, not the board. Many of them also like things like personality tests. I only do short and simple ones such as the one found on this website (http://drawahouse.com/TakeTheTest/) where seniors draw a house. There are some that can not use writing utensils at their stage of memory loss, so a staff member/volunteer will do the work for them and include what the senior says to include. Based on what they include in the drawing, it says certain things about their personality. I only highlight the positive traits as that is important when working with dementia patients. I mentioned this in another topic, but I led a Vegas-themed mystery where staff acted and seniors guessed who the thief was. I can share this with you if you are interested. The seniors loved it and got really into it! Music can be a great reminiscing tool, so we play games like "Name that Tune" where we only play part of a song and they have to guess it. Many are very good at this! I hope these ideas help. I can provide more if needed.

I've found at my center that participants enjoy doing activities that serve a meaningful purpose. For example, instead of doing regular trivia, I go to freerice.com and quiz them from that website. Each time the seniors give a correct answer, sponsors of that website provide the funds to give 10 grains of rice to people in countries like Cambodia that are living in starvation conditions. This activity leaves participants feeling like they're contributing, even just a little bit. I also led a mystery brunch where the staff acts out roles and the seniors have to guess who the thief is. I'd pause the play at different points to allow them time to submit guesses. Seniors who guessed correctly won prizes. Mine was a Vegas themed mystery so all prizes were Vegas related. They really enjoyed this as did staff. I will share the play with you if you like. It was more improv than scripted, but I provided a very general outline of events for people to follow. This allowed staff personality to shine through the roles they played. I hope these ideas help. Best of luck!