Activities for Confused Adults

CdaleJekyll · Jul 30, 2009

When I get confused I like to watch TV or take a nap. I damn sure don't want to fold towels. I may be confused but I know when I'm being taken advantage of.

Honestly, though, I think the best activity for confused patients is to engage them in a conversation. Even a conversation with another confused patient can work wonders for both.

kythe, LPN · Jul 30, 2009

When I get confused I like to watch TV or take a nap. I damn sure don't want to fold towels. I may be confused but I know when I'm being taken advantage of.
Honestly, though, I think the best activity for confused patients is to engage them in a conversation. Even a conversation with another confused patient can work wonders for both.

People who are severely confused due to advanced dementia can be a different story, and may respond differently than we do. If someone doesn't want to fold towels, they shouldn't have to. But people like to feel useful and many Alzheimer's patients need to be "busy". Folding towels can be an appropriate activity for someone who is severely impaired and tends to have their hands in everything. I do agree about conversation. Most people enjoy socializing, no matter how confused they are.

I have also seen patients who do puzzles, draw with colored pencils and paper, or set the table for long periods at a time. Even though they appear to accomplish nothing because they have mentally lost the ability to complete tasks, these activities can keep confused people occupied and calm.

Some facilities encourage regular group activities such as throwing an inflatable beach ball or bean bag back and forth. This can be a safe activity for disabled and wheelchair bound residents while promoting exercise and physical activity.

arelle68 · Jul 31, 2009

We find that activities have to be tailored to the needs of each resident. Some are entertained for hours with someone to talk to. Some need to be able to wonder the unit. Some of ours would be one on one constantly if they were not allowed to pad around the unit at will in their wheelchairs. Some need to feel like they are helping me. I give them and damp cloth, and ask them to dust something. One needs a toolbox, and something to fix. One will produce beautiful pictures if given paper and crayons. Some still read.

I thank the good Lord for the wonderful activities people that show up to help out with these things. They make life better for all of us.

I don't like the throwing things activities. They get my Alzheimer's patients a little too worked up. It frightens some of them. Some of them become aggressive with that kind of activity. I don't like activites that involve things on the floor, because I'm afraid someone will fall. I don't really care for the small dog being brought on my unit. I'm afraid someone will trip over him. Me maybe. Besides he barks, and it makes people nervous. Most of the TV shows just upset my people. I hate it when we have screaming and shooting and sirens. I think we already have enough trauma and drama. I like it when they put on the really old music that my people remember. I think it soothes them, and makes them happy. I hate it when people bring popcorn, and people's teeth get broken because of it, and then we have an incident. I hate it when people give my diabetics cake and icecream and I have to call the doctor at 8:30 PM over some crazy blood sugar. Docs probably don't like that either. I'm sorry I'm complaining. I'll shut up now.

HelenofOz · Jul 31, 2009

I know this firm is in Australia, but how about something similar

http://www.jaemond.com/product.htm (NAYY)

the nursing home my son works in has a room for the Sundowners and they find Baroque music and hand massages, amongst other things, to be effective, and the facility my cousin worked in found the music and videos of Daniel O'Donnell to be very popular with the residents.

BEDPAN76 · Jul 31, 2009

I posted several months ago about this topic. Years ago we had a farmer who donated corn and snap beans. The confused residents picked up on it right away, they shucked the corn and snapped the beans. (we had them in rocking chairs in a circle in activities room). Dietary cooked them and staff bought the extra cleaned corn on the cob. Worked out great!!:wink2:

Dixiecup · Aug 1, 2009

One place I worked had a locked enclosed area in the backyard of the unit.

One of the residents (he was ambulatory) in his earlier life, walked the streeys picking up aluminum cans. We would scatter cans all over the yard and he would spend all morning picking them up. He was happy as a clam!

Ling07 · Oct 12, 2009

This is a request for ideas for some activities that an older confused adult could
participate in, during the day, while sitting in a wheelchair. It was suggested by
one person that folding towels/facecloths is something that they could do.
Any more idea?
Thanks

One of our Activities Assistants discovered that one of our dementia residents can do puzzles. I'm still in shock over this. She uses the puzzles with the big pieces. I think sometimes we underestimate the cognitive ability of the dementia residents.

One Flew Over · Oct 13, 2009

One of our Activities Assistants discovered that one of our dementia residents can do puzzles. I'm still in shock over this. She uses the puzzles with the big pieces. I think sometimes we underestimate the cognitive ability of the dementia residents.

Reminds me of one lady I took care of who was severely impaired. She was a very pleasant woman, but you could tell when you tried to have a conversation with her that it wasn't all computing. She simply answered with one or two words. I didn't see any cues that she even recognized my face from day to day. I tried giving her a pencil and paper to see if she would write (as this had worked in the past with one man I took care of). All she would do was scribble. I tried books, I tried puzzles, everything and she never seemed to want to do anything except hold the baby doll I bought her for Christmas. We found out that she was an artist and had spent most of her free time in her lifetime making beautiful cards and things.

Well they took her down to an activity where they painted faces on pumpkins. Afterward she had come up and the activity girl told me that Connie had something for me. I walked up to her and saw the jack o lantern she had painted! All of the facial features where perfectly painted, not a smudge in sight. She painted the stem with two colors of bright green alternating and painted little red and blue flowers all around it in a pattern. I mean, she did better than you or I could do! When she saw my face her eyes lit up and she lifted the pumpkin up toward me, I thought she was just showing me, but she placed it in my hands and said, "for you!"

I was taking care of her for well over a year, but That was the first time I could really tell that she recognized me as her friend!

She eventually passed away but we have a picture, that her family donated, she had painted years ago, of a cat hanging above our nurses station.

Ling07 · Oct 13, 2009

Reminds me of one lady I took care of who was severely impaired. She was a very pleasant woman, but you could tell when you tried to have a conversation with her that it wasn't all computing. She simply answered with one or two words. I didn't see any cues that she even recognized my face from day to day. I tried giving her a pencil and paper to see if she would write (as this had worked in the past with one man I took care of). All she would do was scribble. I tried books, I tried puzzles, everything and she never seemed to want to do anything except hold the baby doll I bought her for Christmas. We found out that she was an artist and had spent most of her free time in her lifetime making beautiful cards and things.
Well they took her down to an activity where they painted faces on pumpkins. Afterward she had come up and the activity girl told me that Connie had something for me. I walked up to her and saw the jack o lantern she had painted! All of the facial features where perfectly painted, not a smudge in sight. She painted the stem with two colors of bright green alternating and painted little red and blue flowers all around it in a pattern. I mean, she did better than you or I could do! When she saw my face her eyes lit up and she lifted the pumpkin up toward me, I thought she was just showing me, but she placed it in my hands and said, "for you!"
I was taking care of her for well over a year, but That was the first time I could really tell that she recognized me as her friend!
She eventually passed away but we have a picture, that her family donated, she had painted years ago, of a cat hanging above our nurses station.

The lady I'm referring to is the same way. She's very pleasant and only uses two phrases. I think if we spent more time with most of the dementia residents we would be surprised. It's amazing how the brain operates.

GretaRN · Oct 14, 2009

Thats what its all about!!! :)

rapkeygurl · Oct 29, 2009

We usually also taylor activities to each resident individually, aromatherapy is good, the soft music great, Having a conversation we call it Memory Lane - we talk about things say like that happened in 1969- woodstock events of that nature and then talk about current events and you will be amazed at the long term memory sometimes with these folks, we also in east texas shell peas in the summer they do that for hours and love it!! Blackeye peas yum yum!!

The best thing you can do is ask the resident and family what things they use to do like what games/cards/ movies/ dancing/ getting nails/hair done etc... church/bible study / wine and cheese parties / you know in our facility we let a lot of the staff bring there little ones bye and wow talk about light up the day of a resident bring in a puppy or a baby. -- I like it too must be getting old!!