Posted by Beth W. (216.62.201.35) on September 21, 2003 at 21:55:09:
In Reply to: Few activities in Alzheimer's section posted by Melanie on September 20, 2003 at 13:35:17:
Hello there. I am the Alzheimers Program Coordinator for a 16 apt. AL Alzheimers community. I agree with the above response in that the "activities" or programming as we call it has to be so different for dementia/Alz. residents in that they need to be failure-free and success-oriented and also task-oriented for the most part. You have them participate in programs that they can not fail at or feel they are failing at and tasks that they remember-things they did in everyday life before the Alz. became an issue. Again, as most AD's have heard a million times, we enter their world and try to keep it as familiar and successful as possible. Thereby reducing behaviors and agitation. We keep programming limited to 15-30 minutes each. Keep puzzles, simple games, coloring/painting, brooms, feather-dusters, music and relaxation videos readily available for in-between times. And a BIG part of their daily lives are the caretakers who have hopefully been fully trained in Alzheimers and dementia and are able to engage these incredible residents in a happy, successful and productive life day to day. Hope this helps some to explain why the activities you may or may not see are not the same as what you expect with other residents in nursing homes or assisted living communities.