New here......and really joined in order to ask this question.
Are there any games you can recommend to play with an Alzheimer's/dementia patient?
My dad lives just 5 minutes away from us now (used to be 40!) and I visit him twice a week and bring him to our house all day Sunday after taking him to church.
The problem is, if we try to talk, it just ends up that he keeps repeating himself, repeating questions, and I get so depressed, I don't spend much time with him. I would like to find some games that we could play so that we aren't just sitting, trying to talk!!! In the past, we've played Yahtzee, but I'm looking for something different.
Hope someone can help!

Have you tried looking at pictures? That worked best for us. I have boxes of pictures and we went through them....

My mom and I played Trouble.That's simple, it may work for you. And then I had her help me with my 2 year old grand daughter's puzzles. We had to stop because it was too frustrating for her, she just couldn't do it.

Going through old pictures became her favorite thing to do. As a matter of fact, a couple of times I forgot to switch out the pictures and we ended up looking at the same ones. She didn't remember and enjoyed them just as much.

I also bought those big pictyure books that are coffee table books- I bought them at used bookstores. there is one that she loved that has nothing but pictures of mothers and daughters. We have one that is all the covers of Saturday Evening Post, she liked that one. Her favorite is the Norman Rockwell book. We used to look at that one for hours, they are from the 20's, 30's, 40's... lots of good " I remember when's" came from that. If he had a speacial interest such as WWII or cars or trains you can find coffee table books on ebay or used book stores.

All excellent ideas, Bonnie.......thanks so much for taking the time to list them!
I am currently in the process of making a photo album with people he's known, family, friends etc. He can't seem to put a face with a name when I mention someone outside my immediate family. So, I'm putting in pictures of people with their names written on them. Hopefully, this will help.
I was thinking of getting the Reminisce magazine, but not sure if it has many pictures in it.
He does still read.....large print Reader's Digest and Guideposts.

I made an album for my Mom...called it this is my life. It was reminder to her but when I gace it to her it was ostensibly to show to her nurses and visitors. It has a section at the end called "People I love" and everyone she knows is there. One day she was looking at a picture of her best friend and said " I wish I could talk to her." And I said "You can!" and I called her on my cell. My mom talked to her, and then we called two others. With the oictures in front of her, she could know who she was talking to.
It turned out to be the last time she spoke with these three people. Now, she is unable to talk. I'm glad you thought of the album....
I have seen Reminisce in my Mom's daycare but I don't remember whether or not it had a lot of pictures.
Treasure this time with him... tonight I held my mom's hand as she slept, and slept, and slept. I'm still trying to salvage moments of joy but it is getting harder.

There must be a few things in this list that you could do!

101 Things To Do With A Person Who Has Alzheimer's



1. Clip coupons
2. Sort poker chips
3. Count tickets
4. Rake leaves
5. Use the carpet sweeper
6. Read out loud
7. Bake cookies
8. Look up names in the phone book
9. Read the daily paper out loud
10. Ask someone with a child to visit
11. Listen to Polka music
12. Plant seeds indoors or out
13. Look at family photographs
14. Toss a ball
15. Color pictures
16. Make homemade lemonade
17. Wipe off the table
18. Weed the flower bed
19. Make cream cheese mints
20. Have a spelling bee
21. Read from the Reader's Digest
22. Fold clothes
23. Have a friend visit with a calm pet
24. Cut pictures out of greeting cards
25. Wash silverware
26. Bake homemade bread
27. Sort objects by shape or color
28. Sing old songs
29. "Tell me more" when they talk
about a memory
30. Put silverware away
31. Make a Valentine collage
32. Play favorite songs and sing
33. Take a ride
34. Make a cherry pie
35. Read aloud from Ideals magazine
36. Play dreidels
37. Make a basket of socks
38. Take a walk
39. Reminisce about 1st day of school
40. String Cheerios to hang outside
for the birds
41. Make a fresh fruit salad
42. Sweep the patio
43. Color paper shamrocks green
44. Fold towels
45. Have afternoon tea
46. Remember great inventions
47. Play Pictionary
48. Paint a sheet
49. Cut out paper dolls
50. Identify states and capitals
51. Make a family tree poster
52. Color a picture of our flag
53. Cook hot dogs outside
54. Grow magic rocks
55. Water house plants
56. Reminisce about the first kiss
57. Play horse shoes
58. Dance
59. Sing favorite hymns
60. Make homemade ice cream
61. Force bulbs for winter blooming
62. Make Christmas cards
63. Sort playing cards by their color
64. Write a letter to a family member
65. Dress in your favorite football
team's color
66. Pop popcorn
67. Name the presidents
68. Give a manicure
69. Make paper butterflies
70. Plant a tree
71. Make a May basket
72. Make homemade applesauce
73. Finish famous sayings
74. Feed the ducks
75. Mold with play dough
76. Look at pictures in National
Geographic
77. Put a puzzle together
78. Sand wood
79. Rub in hand lotion
80. Decorate paper place mats
81. Arrange fresh flowers
82. Remember famous people
83. Straighten out underwear drawer
84. Finish Nursery Rhymes
85. Make peanut butter sandwiches
86. Wipe off patio furniture
87. Cut up used paper for scratch paper
88. Take care of fish tank
89. Trace and cut out leaves
90. Ask simple trivia questions
91. Finish Bible quotes
92. Paint with string
93. Cut out pictures from magazines
94. Read classic short stories
95. Put coins in a jar
96. Sew sewing cards
97. Put bird feed out for the birds
98. Clean out a pumpkin
99. Reminisce about a favorite summer
100. Roll yarn into a ball
101. Make a birthday cake

I got mom coloring books and crayons, go fish cards, and I go to puzzlemaker.com and make simple word searches up with familiar words to her (such as family names, things to do with the ALF, food, etc.)

I also have gone to highlights.com, download and print out the simple hidden pictures puzzles. There are also great "I SPY" books which are really interesting to look at and very colorful. Either you can buy them or even take them out at the library.

I bought the following book on Amazon.com
It is wonderful, with activities for all stages.

Alzheimer's Activities: Hundreds of Activities for Men and Women With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (Hardcover)

Marci

So many wonderful ideas here. I play cards with my Mom, she always loved cards, and she can still play crazy 8's and UNO, she never tires, I do tho. I also got children's jigsaw puzzles and help her with them. She seems now to get frustrated with that, I bought her a coloring book and crayons but after one picture she didn't like that anylonger. I let her help me in things that she can still do, dust the furniture, which after she is in bed I redo, as she misses most of the dust (shows how dirty my house is these days) she likes to scrub the bathroom sink, and she really cleans that good, uses lots of Softscrub...I gave her my button box to sort the buttons according to color, she seemed to like doing that. I am always learning something here. Nanci

quote:

Originally posted by Nanci R.:
I also got children's jigsaw puzzles and help her with them. She seems now to get frustrated with that, Nanci

We sure do learn new things every day!

My Dad can still do the 8 piece children's puzzles, sometimes help is needed...
He loves music and learned to play the harmonica by ear as a child...When I and my 2 year old grandson walk with him, he plays the harmonica to Old Macdonald and both my grandson and I sing along...They both enjoy that very much..My little grandson claps each time we finish a song and now has his own little harmonica to play along with great-grandpa. I think singing or music is so therapeutic to us all...

Also, Dad loves "Everybody loves Raymond" so when I need some free time or he is a bit restless, I will pop one in the DVD...I purchased the complete 6th season on DVD.

So nice to be able to share ideas and suggestions.

Marci

One hint for photos:
With my MIL, in addition to the names on photos, I put the relationship to her, like neighbor, Son, Grandaughter, etc. She also liked to watch people "do" things on TV. Building, cooking, crafts, etc. She did ask if she could pick our raspberries one day, so I gave her a bowl, and watched her go out into the yard. She picked a bunch alright, but the bowl was empty when she came in, and her mouth was all red around it!!
Maebee

Thought I'd renew this a bit and add one.

When Karol and I are going someplace, we will look for the letters of the alphabet starting with "A". (boy Q's can be a problem.
We don't make it a competition and I don't jump on every letter I see, so that she stays involved. It keeps her looking around and searching/identifying etc. When she finds one I'll sometimes say OK what do we need now?
And she always knows.

James

I wanted to thank you all for your suggestions...I think some of them will work really well. Although, I was really looking for specific games. I think if I started asking him to find things that started with a letter or going through magazines together, he'd think I was grilling him. He's really pretty much on the ball, just forgetful. And he gets annoyed when someone treats him as though he's not competent! It's a juggling act sometimes.

Thanks again...and I'm sorry I haven't gotten back here in awhile. Been very busy!

I didn't read the entire long list, but Mom could really enjoy checkers with me. Just an idea. Dominoes are good, too. Lillian

quote:

Originally posted by Marci2:
I bought the following book on Amazon.com
It is wonderful, with activities for all stages.

Alzheimer's Activities: Hundreds of Activities for Men and Women With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (Hardcover)

Marci

Sorry I haven't gotten back here in so long....got a new computer and so many things have kept me busy, including TRYING to get the Memory Care unit where my dad is to give him a shower....ugh...it's been 2 weeks now. I keep calling and "complaining" to the nurse in charge, and she assures me he will get a shower on Wed and Sat evenings.

Anyway, that's another subject...

This book looks great, thanks for the idea!