hobbies to keep dementia pts happy?

[makes needs known]

It is so difficult to keep bored and dementia related pts content. Many have had busy full lives and here they are with nothing to do and confused about it all. I have given ladies towels to fold, and that works sometimes. One lady laughed at me when I gave her some to fold. Once I gave a bored male pt a damp washcloth and told him we needed all the handrails in the hall wiped down. Our OT department does not seem to address this yet. Can you think of any toys, etc that might work? Thanks.

[1styearsucks]

Great thread very helpful. I wish we could bookmark or save threads on this site that we may want to come back to at a later date.

[courtney1217]

Hi, I couldnt figure out how to private message i just made an account today. I'm a caregiver for the elderly and I was curious what you put in the flower and sewing boxes. my client likes drawing, flowers, birds, and embroidery. She just doesn't have the attention span to do the things she used to so I thought I could try your idea.

[KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN]

I worked in an assisted living for people with Alzheimer's & other forms of dementia. We tried alot of different activities such as:

-helping them clear the tables at meal times, wiping the tables, and some would help us wash the dishes. Also, some would sweep the floors.

- When the weather was nice, we would take them outside & have little tea parties in the backyard.

- The activities department had really great things for them to do, such as finger painting, chair yoga, playing with the Nintendo Wii, playing noodle ball & more.

-In the evenings, we would put the television on Turner Classic Movies & they really enjoyed watching the movies.

One of the activities I didn't like was the towel folding thing..it just didn't seem to be effective with any of the residents.

[Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN]

I worked in an assisted living for people with Alzheimer's & other forms of dementia. We tried alot of different activities such as:

-helping them clear the tables at meal times, wiping the tables, and some would help us wash the dishes. Also, some would sweep the floors.

- When the weather was nice, we would take them outside & have little tea parties in the backyard.

- The activities department had really great things for them to do, such as finger painting, chair yoga, playing with the Nintendo Wii, playing noodle ball & more.

-In the evenings, we would put the television on Turner Classic Movies & they really enjoyed watching the movies.

One of the activities I didn't like was the towel folding thing..it just didn't seem to be effective with any of the residents.

I have a resident who would.. if you let her.. clean the entire dining room. We let her do her table. Its something for her to do and she likes it.

The towel thing wouldn't work for us either. My residents would throw the towels onto the floor. Some would throw the towels at other residents or staff. Some would just cover themselves in the towels after taking off their clothes.

Last night we had a resident up for a good portion of the night. She started writing not so nice things on the CNA binders. So we got her a piece of paper and a pen and she wrote away. For a good half hour. After she finally went to bed(I caved and gave her a PRN xanax)... we tried to figure out what she was writing. It was mostly jibberish. But boy did it keep her quiet while she was writing.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

Why do you call it 'caving' to give a resident an ordered medication?

One thing to remember is to try to keep the activity resident centered. We had one woman who used to practically run the town...she was the town clerk. Some one gave her laundry to fold and she wouldn't even look at it. I gave her some of the 'most important papers' we had on the unit. She organized them all by size and then alphabetized the whole pile. With a never ending supply of paper(never any patient identifiers on them, of course) she was happy as a clam.

[Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN]

Why do you call it 'caving' to give a resident an ordered medication?

One thing to remember is to try to keep the activity resident centered. We had one woman who used to practically run the town...she was the town clerk. Some one gave her laundry to fold and she wouldn't even look at it. I gave her some of the 'most important papers' we had on the unit. She organized them all by size and then alphabetized the whole pile. With a never ending supply of paper(never any patient identifiers on them, of course) she was happy as a clam.

It is PRN 1x a day xanax for severe agitation in addition to her standing xanax. Its usually given on 7-3 or 3-11 I decided to give it because she was getting restless. I figured if they need something more during the day they can get another order.

[egglady, LPN]

Folding a basket of baby clothes, and for the men- a block of wood (not with splinters) and sand paper, or some large nuts and bolts, or different sized pvc pipes. Men like to "fix" things, and that generation loves to "help" females that cant fix something!! I keep a few of the fellows busy on my wing with "fixing" these things. They are content and feel needed and useful...

[gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN]

I think the best way to figure out what works with each patient is to talk to thier family. Ask what hobbies they had, what they did for a living, what was the most common thing for them to do, and if possible, what time they did them. Example, I had a male patient who was a maintainence man all his life. During "working" hours I would have him fixing things around the unit. After he was done "working" for the day, he would "come home", read the paper, eat supper, then proceed on fixing things around the house. Knowing his life schedule made it easy to schedule his activities and keep him happy. Some of my ladies worked for a living, some were homemakers. I found ways of incorporating thier past lives into actions that kept them busy. But, knowing thier past is a big help to the present.

My biggest challenge was a patient who had spent 30 yrs as a CNA!! The fun we had trying to stop her from doing her "rounds"!!

[keronflexx]

RE: michael79

I recently started on a geriatric psych unit and I would LOVE to hear your ideas in more detail. I work night so I'm often at a loss for finding things to occupy patients that cannot sleep. I love the idea of sanding a block! Unfortunately resources on the unit are limited and we often have extremely agitated patients so safety is a big issue. I'm not sure how to message you privately on here so hopefully you will get this and find a way to contact me?

Thanks!

[Poi Dog]

Be careful with the crayons, I've had residents try to eat them and one tried to "smoke" one. I second the idea of folding the clothes.

[Forever Sunshine, ASN, RN]

Be careful with the crayons, I've had residents try to eat them and one tried to "smoke" one. I second the idea of folding the clothes.

LOL!

I know which of my resident would eat the crayon..and which one would try to smoke it. lol

[rn/writer, RN]

If you know anything about a patient's work life that can be helpful. People who were in business can use a briefcase, file folders, papers, business cards and other related objects. Give them a stack of papers (used are less "sticky" than new) to file in a box with upright manila folders, for example.

Someone who was mainly a wife and mother might do well with caring for a doll, folding towels and wash cloths, stacking empty food boxes, "polishing" silverware.

A factory worker could stack items, sort nuts and bolts into a divided plastic box, or do similar manual tasks.

The "occupational" memories can remain when many other things have gone, as they often reach back to the person's late teens or early twenties. They also have a physical component and aren't as abstract as speech.

Finally, they may tap into the satisfaction of doing something useful and being needed. This is a powerful draw for most of us.