The best mind-stimulating activities for people with dementia

Before you start designing or using an activity with people with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia, it is extremely important that you know their likes and dislikes. You must know their strengths and weaknesses. Knowledge of past life and experiences of people is also useful.

Here are several activities that can be done independently or in small groups with most people with early or intermediate stage dementia.

These activities use a deck of cards and are especially good for people who love numbers, have worked with numbers, relate to numbers, like to play cards, or have played cards in the past.

SORT the cards: by suit, odd and even numbers, by colors, or in any original way you can think of. A person with low-functioning dementia might enjoy counting a group of cards. Somehow just touching and looking at the cards brings back nice memories.

MATCHING – you will need two decks of cards

Give the person with dementia several playing cards (more for those with early dementia. Two cards for those with significant memory problems)

Then show him a card. See if you can choose the corresponding card.

You can see if you can match a sequence of cards.

Here’s another game that needs two decks of cards. You will need several people playing to have the most fun. Distribute four cards (more for those with early dementia, less for those with significant memory problems) to each person who plays. Keep the cards face up. Choose a card from the second deck. Whoever has that card will turn it face down. The first to turn over all their cards is the winner. You can also play a community game where there is no winner.

CHOOSE a day or week number(s): Start with a small number, choose just one number. Relate the number to something significant, for example, if 2 is chosen, say: We can remember 2 because we have 2 eyes, arms, etc.

Then, asking them to recall the number periodically throughout the day, say: It’s the number of eyes you have.

Some can remember the number without the cue. Some may not remember the number but they know that a person has 2 eyes.

Either way, connections are being made in the brain to replace those that have been lost.

PLAY SIMPLE CARD GAMES

Here are some suggestions

War, Crazy Eights, Old Maid (draw 3 of the queens from the deck), Go Fish, Twenty-one, or make up a game.

This is the perfect opportunity to get the kids involved. People with dementia love children.

However, children must be educated about dementia.

No matter what games you play or what exercises you do, remember to put a positive spin on everything. Have meaningful dialogue throughout the sessions. Conversation is extremely important for the person with memory problems. Also put the emphasis on fun.

Many books have been written on the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. They strongly suggest keeping your mind active. If a person already has memory problems, it is just as important, if not more so, to keep it active.

Using a deck of cards is an easy way to help stimulate the minds of people with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia.

Doing this will slow down the mental decline associated with the disease process.