We got some old I Love Lucy DVD's and my 93 year old aunt loves them. She is in stage 4 to 5 AD. She sits and laughs and they really brighten her day. She watches them over and over and they are all new again when she gets them out after putting them away for a while. She also has enjoyed other DVD's involving subjects from her youth and early years, but can't follow much of a story. Dancing videos are good, as is Art Linkletter's Kids Say the Darndest Things. The I Love Lucy shows are her favorites.

My mother also loves Andy Griffith Show and we do too. She is in mod to late stage.

Dress up in a fancy dress and play the old familiar tunes they remember. Get up and dance together (if they are able) or sing along.
Talk about the old days. Don't ask questions, if you touch on something they remember, they will contribute, and not be embarrassed,
Scarves are also good to use, they will wave them or tie them around their heads, etc.

I love these ideas. I would love to see more. My mom was starting to talk to her stuffed animals and caressing them. But she often would hear a baby crying or see a small child and neither were really there. I bought her a life-like baby doll and she loves it. She sleeps with it and holds it. It seems to satisfy her nurturing desire. She always loved babies. I'd like to know of more ideas though. She doesn't have the concentration for T.V. anymore. I did notice that when she was in the hospital, she responded well to their music therapy.

When I play my mother's favorite music - it always puts her in a better mood. And I dance around (and I can't dance, so she thinks it is hysterical). Laughter is the best medicine! Anything you can do to make them laugh. I also bought my mother some puzzles. She had a really hard time doing a 10 piece puzzle at first, but now she does a 30 piece puzzle all by herself and she even does it without me telling her to do it. It takes her about 45 minutes but it is better then her staring at the TV.

Today I bought her some easy kid's card games and Connect Four (it is sort of a tic tac toe game).

Anytime I can get my mother to go outside for a couple of hours is also very helpful. I have to put her in a wheelchair because she cannot walk very fast or very long. But she looks forward to going out. Anybody would get depressed staying home day after day. I tried taking her to an Alzheimer's Day Program, but the people there were much more advanced then her and she didn't like seeing that.

I also try and make my mother feel useful. I get her to help me cook, even if she just beats the eggs or set the table. They need to feel useful. I also get her to fold towels and socks.
Phyllis

Here's something I discovered, quite by accident, but one day when my MIL was visiting for the weekend (she's mid-level and deteriorating). There are less and less forms of communication that will hold her attention - altho she reads books all the time (how she does that and can stay with it is a mystery to me).

Anyhow, I had the TV on and was trying to find anything that would hold her attention. When I came across an old episode of America's Funniest Home Videos we tried that for a while -it was absolutely amazing. She laughed SO hard and for the entire hour. Since then, I've recorded episodes whenever I find it on and I can play and re-play those for her until she literally wears herself out laughing. I think it's a real basic, visceral response to slapstick that does it. AND it puts her in a great mood!!

Also, I recently found she likes Deal or No Deal. I discovered she has no idea how the game is being played. She see's all the $$ up on the board and she thinks the contestant is winning lots and lots of money with and all the cheering and activity - she just gets lost in the excitement.

I also have these DVD's for my husband. I found that anything longer than 30 mins gets too hard to follow. Also the English comedies are too difficult to follow because of the language. Music of his era are great! He also likes Huell Howser as he can remember going to many of the places shown.

My Italian mom loves the old Lawrence Welk Shows, especially the Italian one! What a life saver that show is for our family! My mom loves to fold clothes too. Anything that keeps her busy helps.