Okay so here is the deal?............

[adorblepuppy]

I am working at a small facilty that only has 8 residents. I am suppose to be in control of the activity director type thing. So i need some help with ideas of things to do with them. Five of the residents have some type of mental illness, one is mentally inpaired and blind, the other two are high functioning but have problems. So i am not sure of what all i can do with the people. So any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

How about music therapy or utlizing music? Also, art therapy is a common one, although I don't know how you would use that for the blind pt.

[CinnScorpStudent]

Something I did while in a performance major (in a different life many many years ago) was perform with my college ensemble (classical guitar music) at many retirement facilities and nursing homes....I'm sure there are groups like this that would be acceptable to come and play, or other artists/students/etc... that would like to share and get experience themselves with an easy audience before they hit the main stages er' life....high schools, local colleges might be looking for just a venue to showcase talent and engage this type of environment. I really enjoyed playing for the folks and even had some that knew the music we played, sparked a "memory" or two...also it was a learning experience for me to appreciate the realities of what is our modern day elderly community.

[yousoldtheworld]

When I helped with activities in a memory unit, I found that they loved trivia. Make it trivia dealing with their era and not modern trivia. Word games were popular, as was listening to and singing familiar songs. We had a resident who was an excellent piano player, so often he would play and everyone would sing along;

They loved to color and make holiday decorations to hang on their doors, too. We made a door decoration for each holiday for every resident in the facility and we also made holiday decorations and ornaments for around the facility. Depending on the craft, maybe you could find a task dealing with the crafting that would be doable for the blind resident.

Old classic movies are always a hit - we used to have movie nights complete with snacks.

And yes, the above idea of bringing in community groups to perform is a great one.