suggestions please

[pkwiatkowski 0]

I have been an AD for almost a year and an activity asst. for nearly 4 yrs. I am currently in a 106 bed LTC facility with a full memory care unit with 24 beds. Recently we got a new gentleman that is still very young in his early 50's, He was once not only a farmer but also a coalminer from KY. It's not that i don't know what kind of activities that should workfor this gentleman but this gentleman is very tearful and looking for his son. He enjoys football but this also upsets him because he thinks his son is playing and he should be there to pick him up. My situation is that he get aggravated easily i would love to make a screw, bolt board for him but i also have to think about the safety of the other residents...any suggestions? His son is 19 and this gentleman thinks he's 14.

[vmitchell 0]

Hi, I have been an AD for about a year now in an ALF. Maybe you could have some notes on hand that were written by his son that tells this resident that it was o.k. that he had to miss his football game and the he understands and that he still loves him very much. Tell the resident that this note came for him in the mail. When he starts to feel down, or aggitated, give him one of the notes. Let me know if you try it and let me know if it works.

 

Vernell

I have been an AD for almost a year and an activity asst. for nearly 4 yrs. I am currently in a 106 bed LTC facility with a full memory care unit with 24 beds. Recently we got a new gentleman that is still very young in his early 50's, He was once not only a farmer but also a coalminer from KY. It's not that i don't know what kind of activities that should workfor this gentleman but this gentleman is very tearful and looking for his son. He enjoys football but this also upsets him because he thinks his son is playing and he should be there to pick him up. My situation is that he get aggravated easily i would love to make a screw, bolt board for him but i also have to think about the safety of the other residents...any suggestions? His son is 19 and this gentleman thinks he's 14.

[belisle828 0]

Perhaps it would be benficial for the family to bring in a bunch of family photos and an empty album. Someone could sit with him and talk about his life story and use the pictures as items to reminisce about. You would also be able to compare photos of his son and how the son has aged with a sequence of photos for him to view. If you are able to turn the son into an image of pride and something the gentleman wants to tell everyone about ( perhaps making a small wallet collection of photos for him to carry around) then he may spend more time promoting his sons achievements that being sad that he is not around....hopes this helps

[LisaRee 0]

Maybe keep his activities simple and no more than 10 minutes at a time. Without knowing his diagnosis or him personally it's tough to say what would work. I suggest short activities that would give him a sense of accomplishment...maybe wood working (sanding) or even painting. Hope this helps. Good luck--Lisa

[LisaRee 0]

PS... How sad. He's such a young man. Again, Good luck--Lisa

[Ella 0]

I agree with all the suggestions, note cards, pictures, wallet etc. but without knowing this gentlemans dx we do not know if any of these things will work i.e. can he follow the note cards, vision status etc so I hope some of these things will help you. As far as the screw/bolt board.... is this something you want him to be able to do? By this I mean using the screw driver to put the screws into the wood? Putting the nuts on to the bolts? If this is the case, safety is an issue and I am at a loss other than supervision.

 

If you are looking for a "busy board"; something that he can tinker with on his own with little to no supervison; years ago, we had a gentleman that needed to tinker all the time so we had our maintenance department make a "busy board" for him and it was approved by the state during our annual survey. They attached all types of hardware to a 2 foot by 2 foot (approx.) piece of plywood. All the edges were sanded down so there were no rough edges/splinters. I don't remember all that was on it but I remember there was a slide bolt, a latch, an actual faucet with the hot & cold handles etc. Everything had smooth surfaces, so he would not get cut on anything and he would sit and tinker with this thing for hours, turning this, twisting that, opening the other etc.

 

We also had a board with plumbers tubing set up for him. The board was about a foot square with one piece of plumbers tubing permanently attached to the center. He then had a tub with several other pieces of all lengths and angles that he could put together and take apart. Nothing too small to put in his mouth so again little to no supervision.

 

Hope this helps!

[LisaT 0]

If he likes animals a pet visit will redirect his thoughts and also keep him calm. If your facility has a dog you could offer him to care for the dog. I don't know what kind of sensory would be appropriate without meeting him but I would try soothing relaxing, water, soap, and lotion for his hands. Maybe books on tape wearing head phones would help to keep him focused on what he is listening too.

 

Strolls outdoors when the weather is good can also help solve agitation. If he likes to keep his hands busy maybe he would put labels on envelopes or sort thought nuts and bolts putting them into small containers.

 

 

I have been an AD for almost a year and an activity asst. for nearly 4 yrs. I am currently in a 106 bed LTC facility with a full memory care unit with 24 beds. Recently we got a new gentleman that is still very young in his early 50's, He was once not only a farmer but also a coalminer from KY. It's not that i don't know what kind of activities that should workfor this gentleman but this gentleman is very tearful and looking for his son. He enjoys football but this also upsets him because he thinks his son is playing and he should be there to pick him up. My situation is that he get aggravated easily i would love to make a screw, bolt board for him but i also have to think about the safety of the other residents...any suggestions? His son is 19 and this gentleman thinks he's 14.