The Best Books And Activities For Seniors With Alzheimer’s

If you have a senior loved one with Alzheimer’s you know that it’s important for seniors with Alzheimer’s to do activities like puzzles and read books to help them keep their cognitive skills sharp as long as they can. But as the disease progresses the types of books and puzzles and activities that are helpful for them will change. If your senior loved one has Alzheimer’s care at home the Alzheimer’s care at home provider can help you choose activities and books that are a good fit for your senior parent’s individual level of cognition. But in general when you are choosing books, games, and activities for seniors with Alzheimer’s you should look for:

Photo Books

Alzheimer’s Home Care Salisbury, NC: Best Books and Activities for Seniors

As Alzheimer’s progresses many seniors will have trouble recognizing words or understanding that the letters on the page correspond to actual things. But photo books are great for those seniors because they can still recognize the elements in the photo. Faces, landscapes, flowers, the sun, mountains and other things are beautiful and calming to look at. Some seniors also really enjoy photos of babies, puppies, kittens, and other animals. If your senior loved one is religious they may enjoy a picture book related to their faith. 

Books With Simple Sentences And Lots Of Photos

If your senior loved one can still process words but they can’t follow a complete story because they can’t process narrative elements, books that are mostly photos that have short sentences in them are a good option. Books with affirmations that that only have one sentence per page and say things like “I am safe.” in large print can be very soothing for seniors with Alzheimer’s. Your senior loved one may enjoy reading a photo book with affirmations at bedtime to help them wind down and get ready to sleep. 

Games That Are Simple Reasoning Games

A lot of families think that they can just play games designed for babies with their senior parent who has Alzheimer’s but that’s not the case. Most games designed for babies and young children are designed to help kids develop their brain function. But your senior parent isn’t capable of developing new brain function. So those games won’t make sense to them and may confuse them or make them angry. Instead look for simple reasoning games that don’t have a story element. There are games and puzzles created specifically for people with dementia that are a much better fit than traditional children’s games. 

Matching Games

In general games for seniors with Alzheimer’s should not have a lot of pieces and they should involve big pieces or big photos that are easy for seniors with vision loss to see. Matching games where seniors need to match colored blocks or stickers or other items are very fun for seniors with Alzheimer’s and they can help seniors retain their cognitive skills and keep their brain function as healthy as possible. Matching games are easy to make too if you want to make your own using personal photos that your senior parent might recognize.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Alzheimer’s Home Care in Salisbury, NC, contact the caring professionals at TenderHearted Home Care today. Call us at (704) 612-4132