Activities to do Together With a Dementia Diagnosis

Blog Category: Lifestyle

Are you looking to connect more with your loved one who has memory loss? When you thought the bond between you two would only grow throughout the years, memory impairment could affect how you spend quality time. Here are some great activity ideas to keep you connected while improving brain health.

Have Fun With Routines

When living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, having more routine and less spontaneity is key for finding ways to incorporate activities. Spending time together in daily routines and doing simple tasks can foster your relationship through quality time. Depending on you and your loved one’s needs, you’ll want to factor in a schedule for the following:

Special Occasions and Outings

And while having routines reduces stress, it’s important to find other opportunities to shake things up occasionally to keep everyone sharp and happy. A fun activity you can do with your loved one is creating a bucket list of things they’ve always wanted to do. Maybe one day you can go to a sporting event, visit the theater, take a short trip to the lake, or even revisit a place or activity from a long time ago, anything that would be a dream to them.

Things Around the House

Nothing beats the familiarity of home. From simple household tasks to walks down memory lane, you can both feel connected by:

  • Listening to music, reading books, and watching movies
  • Taking walks and riding bikes
  • Gardening and art projects
  • Looking through photo albums and other memorabilia
  • Cleaning and reorganizing spaces
  • Baking and cooking family recipes

Games and Apps

Games are always great for building brain muscles and having fun together. You can use any kind of game that suits you and your loved one’s interests, needs, and capabilities, like video games, board games, word games, trivia, puzzles, and cards. And if you need something more accessible than carrying around various games, here are some different apps that might be more handy when your loved one needs a solo activity or for you to do together:

  • AmuseIT: These questions are designed to promote conversation for your loved one. They can choose whichever topics and quizzes they want to strengthen their knowledge, memory, and interests.
  • CogniFit: These brain games help evaluate and train your brain and cognitive abilities with specific brain workouts for the various cognitive skills we use every day.
  • Constant Therapy: This therapy improves your loved one’s cognitive, language, and speech abilities with accessible exercises they can do anytime, anywhere.
  • Jigsaw Puzzles Real: Puzzles ready to do on-the-go by yourself or with others.
  • Lumosity: These brain games for cognitive training are great to do alone or together to problem-solve.
  • MindMate: These daily activities and brain games improve memory, problem-solving, cognitive speed, and attention. Your loved one can do them routinely on their own or with you so you can both stay sharp together.
  • Word Search Colorful: Word search games ready to do on-the-go by yourself or with others.

Learn more about your options for memory care with individualized resources based on your needs through our 5-minute survey powered by Roobrik here.

At Life Enriching Communities (LEC), we’re committed to ensuring patrons feel well-equipped to plan their future and age how they wish. Explore more resources on senior living or contact us today to learn more about our legacy of services and programs that bring meaning and purpose to every stage of life.