Friday, March 5, 2010

Want To Get Leid?

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine

I bet this title got your attention. Well May 1 is May Day but in Hawaii it is Lei Day.
Lei Day has an easy to do craft for those with dementia. The craft is making leis.
There is something for someone with almost every level of dementia, to do.
First you need to have strips of approximately 1×10 inches of paper. However the demensions are far from exact. I like to use tissue paper, but any thin paper or material will do.


Therefore, you can have one group making long strips of paper. This is a good activity for a lower functioning group. If group members have trouble making the strips then…..

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Volunteer opportunities

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities



PLEASE BE A VOLUNTEER AT HUNT

As an activity director, you are asked to build a dynamic volunteer team. In the coming weeks, I will post volunteer opportunities at Hunt Nursing and Rehabilitation in Danvers, Masssachusetts.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Olympic activities

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Here is a dementia music activity


I was asked about Olympic activities since the Winter Olympics are beginning
Here are some thoughts

Watch a live or taped portion of the opening ceremony
This will get the paticipants in the mood. Remember it is the group leaders attitude and enthusiasm that make a big diffference in the success of an activity.

Have several events planned
trivia is always good-
even though you might have only one winner- you can have seoond third etc., best effort, best smile, best attitude. This way you can give everyone a chance to participate
-You always have those who like to shout out the answers
-For those who are shy or not as quick, I always ask them by name what they think.
Of course I am extra complimentary to these people

I will be posting more events anf more ideas.

If you cannot wait email alzzheimersideas@gmail.com

Friday, February 12, 2010

Thanks for being patient

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Here is a great Valentine's Day Activity for those suffering from dementia

I will be posting less frequently due to computer problems. Sorry for any inconvenience

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Leesburg facility keeps Alzheimer's victim, spouse under same roof

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Here is a great Valentine's Day Activity for those suffering from dementia


Orlando Sentinal

LEESBURG - Henri Couture believes a husband and wife should never have to live separately because one of them comes down with Alzheimer's disease, so he has opened a community for people with the degenerative brain disease.

At the 22-villa Hammock's Promise Community, an Alzheimer patient and the non-afflicted family member can live together with 24-hour on-site assistance. The villas have two bedrooms with conveniences such as a washer, dryer and garage.

This is different from typical facilities for Alzheimer's patients, which don't generally allow a loved one to live with the patient, Couture said.

"Separation causes unnecessary stress on married couples," he said. "I can't change the disease. I can't change the slow degeneration of the disease, but I can do my darndest not to remove them from your life."

Through Couture's setup, the non-afflicted family member can live with the afflicted one, and at the same time go out in the day to play golf, attend social groups, etc., while knowing their loved one is safe.

Well-minded family members "can have their life and not have guilt," said Kathy Haviland, executive director of Hammock's Promise.

Couture, 63, opened his first senior assisted-living facility in 1985 and has attended to the special needs of seniors such as those with Alzheimer's ever since. He and his wife, Ann Marie, currently operate Hammock's Promise and The Wedgewood Community in Leesburg, a senior independent-living community.

Couture said it can be hard for Alzheimer's patients to be separated from loved ones in a locked facility, but because the disease can cause these patients to wander off and/or get lost it's usually necessary they be in a secured facility away from family members.

He said forcing an Alzheimer's patient to live apart from their close family member or significant other can even worsen the effects of Alzheimer's because it causes the patient added stress.

"When you remove their loved one, they feel uncomfortable in that environment," he said. "You've removed that security blanket."

He touts Hammock's Promise as the solution.

For the Alzheimer's patient, there's a ......read all of Leesburg facility keeps Alzheimer's victim, spouse under same roof

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Music and rhythms connect people to the past, to each other and to their souls (part 2)

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Alzheimer's Products

Sounds for the mind and the brain
Natural sounds are probably the best for mood and meditation. A gentle rain, or the wind blowing through pine trees, can work magic. To stimulate cognition, a Mozart symphony is probably better. And the music that the Alzheimer's patient enjoyed when he or she was younger is best to stimulate reminiscence. Therefore, a variety of sound stimulation is important.

Sound doesn't have to be pleasing or melodic to be effective. Rattles and other percussion musical instruments are also good, especially if the Alzheimer's patient is playing them. The physical activity and the stimulation of listening to and following a rhythm both add to the benefits of the passive auditory stimulation. Even "white noise" has been shown to improve memory in Alzheimer's patients.

Here is a dementia music activity

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Music and rhythms connect people to the past, to each other and to their souls

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Here is a dementia music activity

Music is everywhere!
Alzheimer's Products



Auditory Stimulation – Our ears probably provides us with our second most vibrant source of sensory stimulation. Our eyes allow us to enjoy the paintings of Rembrandt and the sculpture of Michelangelo. Our ears allow us to share in the genius of Mozart and Beethoven; to wake up to a symphony of birds on a spring morning.

Auditory stimulation for people with Alzheimer's and dementia is as effective for mood enhancement, relaxation, and cognition as it is for everyone else. The calming effects of music are well known. Farmers play music to their cows and the cows produce more and better milk. Music makes plants grow larger and healthier. Music is good for living things including people.

And it's not just music that benefits dementia patients (and everyone else, as well). The sound of water, from a babbling brook or from an artificial waterfall, is to the ear what a camp fire is to the eye. Both are mesmerizing and calming, as is the sound of a well tuned bell or wind chime.