Adapting Activities for People With Alzheimer’s Disease

Doing things we enjoy gives us pleasure and adds meaning to our lives. People with Alzheimer’s disease need to be active and do things they enjoy. However, it’s not easy for them to plan their days and do different tasks.

People with Alzheimer’s may have trouble deciding what to do each day, which could make them fearful and worried or quiet and withdrawn, or they may have trouble starting tasks. Remember, the person is not being lazy. He or she might need help organizing the day or doing an activity.

Activity planning

Plan activities that the person with Alzheimer’s enjoys in your daily routine, and try to do them at a similar time each day. He or she can be a part of the activity or just watch. Here are things you can do to help the person enjoy the activity:

• Match the activity with what the person with Alzheimer’s can do.
• Choose activities that can be fun for everyone.
• Help the person get started.
• Decide if he or she can do the activity alone or needs help.
• Watch to see if the person gets frustrated.
• Make sure he or she feels successful and has fun.
• Let him or her watch if that is more enjoyable.

Try these activities

The person with Alzheimer’s disease can do different activities each day. This keeps the day interesting and fun. Here are some daily activities people with Alzheimer’s may enjoy:

• Household chores: Wash dishes, set the table, prepare food, sweep the floor, dust, sort mail and clip coupons, sort socks and fold laundry, sort recycling materials or other things.
• Cooking and baking: Decide what is needed to prepare the dish; measure, mix, and pour; tell someone else how to prepare a recipe; watch others prepare food.
• Exercise: Take a walk together, watch exercise videos or TV programs made for older people, use a stationary bike, use stretching bands, throw a soft ball or balloon back and forth, lift weights or household items such as soup cans.
• Music and dancing: Play music, talk about the music and the singer, ask what the person with Alzheimer’s was doing when the song was popular, sing or dance to well-known songs, attend a concert or musical program.
• Pets: Feed, groom, walk, sit and hold a pet.
• Gardening: Take care of indoor or outdoor plants, plant flowers and vegetables, water the plants when needed, talk about how much the plants are growing.
• Visiting with children: Play a simple board game, read stories or books, visit family members who have small children, walk in the park or around schoolyards, go to school events, talk about fond memories from childhood.

To learn more about adapting activities for people with Alzheimer’s Disease, from the National Institute on Aging, CLICK HERE.