Hi! I have an entire ‘toy box’ for my husband. I buy sensory books/toys from Amazon. Or search for autism toys for children. My husband likes to be busy with his hands and is comforted by holding onto things. Even items like a bath towel, piece of clothing, etc. brings him comfort. I give him the junk mail to mangle.
My 68 year old wife is about a 6C on the FAST scale. She lives with me at home and I've tried everything to engage her with some type of interest/activity. There are a few things that worked best for us, and, of course, may not work for everyone. The best thing was the 24 Inch Anano Silicone baby doll with hand drawn veins for dementia patients. They're available on Amazon and look very real. They even have the weight to them that a baby that age would have. My wife will play with it and talk to it as if were real. It seems to make her happy, even if for a few minutes at a time. If you have access to YouTube, there are many channels of relaxing therapeutic music with visuals of fantasy, birds, nature scenes, or flyovers of various countries. She will actually sit relaxed for awhile and seem mesmerized. Other channels she will watch and laugh out loud over are funny baby videos and like they say, laughter is the best medicine.
Disney or Pixar movies: Up, Moana, Ice Age (none with too much scary stuff in it, ones that move slower, ones with music). My Aunt loved to read the closed captions. Or old movies like Singing in the Rain or Oklahoma.
If physically able, folding a stack of kitchen towels or sorting colorful things like poker chips, or sorting plastic utensils.
TV is actually a great pastime. My mom loved to watch Elvis movies all day long. Other things too. I'm not sure that in her later days she understood what she was seeing, but the moving shapes seemed to keep her engaged.
Sensory books are great. They're kind of like toddler busy books, with different textures and sounds and bright images. In fact, I've brought in some of my grandson's books for this purpose. In late stages of AD, "worried hands" are a symptom, and this is soothing.
If you can take a walk, that's always great, too. Fresh air, a little nature…and if not, having a plant nearby is the next best thing. Therapy animals are fantastic. So are realistic stuffed animals (there's a model of a cat that purrs and seems to breathe).
I've also found reading aloud, playing music from their youth and just talking about things that might have happened during that time are helpful. In many cases I've volunteered in, the patient is nonverbal but awake, so I talk about things like, "I remember how my grandmother loved watching / baked this type of cake / did the jitterbug," or "My grandfather served in the South Pacific, and he…" etc. Or, "I remember hearing how people would dress up to travel," and then talk about the clothes, the train cars, stuff like that. I can tell by their expressions when they like the conversation.
It depends on what the person wants/likes. If I look at NeedHelpWithMom's answer (and it is a very good one) I can tell you that My Husband would have chewed on the books He did like stuffed toys but I had to give him baby teething toys We have animals, he tolerated them but had a preference for 1 and I would put one on his bed and she would settle down and he would pet her. He loved holding hands. No interest in Photos, Music, singing I could go on but you get the idea Each person is different so find something your loved one likes and enjoy that time. Keep in mind that you do need to keep an eye on them. As I said my Husband would have chewed books,. he chewed blocks, cards, I could not give him crayons unless I was right there with him.
I have an entire ‘toy box’ for my husband. I buy sensory books/toys from Amazon. Or search for autism toys for children. My husband likes to be busy with his hands and is comforted by holding onto things. Even items like a bath towel, piece of clothing, etc. brings him comfort. I give him the junk mail to mangle.
If you have access to YouTube, there are many channels of relaxing therapeutic music with visuals of fantasy, birds, nature scenes, or flyovers of various countries. She will actually sit relaxed for awhile and seem mesmerized.
Other channels she will watch and laugh out loud over are funny baby videos and like they say, laughter is the best medicine.
Disney or Pixar movies: Up, Moana, Ice Age (none with too much scary stuff in it, ones that move slower, ones with music). My Aunt loved to read the closed captions. Or old movies like Singing in the Rain or Oklahoma.
If physically able, folding a stack of kitchen towels or sorting colorful things like poker chips, or sorting plastic utensils.
If you can take a walk, that's always great, too. Fresh air, a little nature…and if not, having a plant nearby is the next best thing. Therapy animals are fantastic. So are realistic stuffed animals (there's a model of a cat that purrs and seems to breathe).
I've also found reading aloud, playing music from their youth and just talking about things that might have happened during that time are helpful. In many cases I've volunteered in, the patient is nonverbal but awake, so I talk about things like, "I remember how my grandmother loved watching / baked this type of cake / did the jitterbug," or "My grandfather served in the South Pacific, and he…" etc. Or, "I remember hearing how people would dress up to travel," and then talk about the clothes, the train cars, stuff like that. I can tell by their expressions when they like the conversation.
Hope this helps.
If I look at NeedHelpWithMom's answer (and it is a very good one) I can tell you that
My Husband would have chewed on the books
He did like stuffed toys but I had to give him baby teething toys
We have animals, he tolerated them but had a preference for 1 and I would put one on his bed and she would settle down and he would pet her.
He loved holding hands.
No interest in Photos, Music, singing
I could go on but you get the idea
Each person is different so find something your loved one likes and enjoy that time.
Keep in mind that you do need to keep an eye on them. As I said my Husband would have chewed books,. he chewed blocks, cards, I could not give him crayons unless I was right there with him.
Sensory books
Stuffed toys
Pet therapy
Hand massage
Physical contact - brush hair, hold hands
Photo albums
Sensory bean bags
Music and movies
Scent stimulation - diffuser in room
Bird watching
Sunshine and fresh air
Matching colors
Read aloud
Sight stimulation - posters, plants, photographs
Sports - watch a game
I don’t know if any posters have tried any of these. I’m sure they will let you know if these are good ideas or not.
Some of these don’t sound very practical, like fresh air and sunshine! Unless the facility has a safe outdoor space for late dementia patients.