You can now prevent and treat dementia through fun activities like story therapy, music therapy, and even gardening. These cognitive and gentle physical activities are safe, non-pharmacological treatments that can easily be included in residents' daily routines.

Whether you’re managing a care facility for a hundred residents or taking care of one client, they’ll enjoy these tailored activities:

Storytelling and Scrapbooks

Encourage clients to remember special moments through storytelling prompts to co-create stories. Use simple text prompts or visual aids like old photos, postcards, newspapers, or magazines. Bnd these stories or collages into a memory book that can be shared and revisited occasionally.

WHY IT WORKS

This activity promotes self-expression, cognitive engagement, and social interaction.

Sensory Indoor Garden

Transform a small indoor area into a sensory garden by placing potted herbs, flowers, and other aromatic plants around it. Try herbs like rosemary and lavender, which are known to have calming effects. Then, encourage clients to look around, smell, and touch these plants as long as they need to.

WHY IT WORKS

These sensory gardens help stimulate their senses, which can be a calming and uplifting experience.

Interactive Food Tasting

If your client is an adventurer who likes to try new things, consider holding a small food tasting featuring simple, nostalgic dishes from different cultures. You may even rotate cuisines based on your clients’ backgrounds or holidays to add variety. Offer small, easy-to-eat portions and ask residents to share any memory related to the dish they’re eating.

WHY IT WORKS

By hosting a tasting, you can associate food with happy memories and stimulate their senses.

Gentle Animal Therapy

Partnering with animal shelters can benefit both your clients and the animals, who long for human companionship. Ask any shelter to bring dogs or cats to your care facility to interact with the residents. Make sure you introduce pets during quiet hours to minimize distractions. You may also implement a pet care routine where residents can feed or groom the pets.

WHY IT WORKS

Allowing residents to care for pet animals can give them a sense of responsibility and calmness.

Music Sessions

Playing music is the easiest way to get a reaction (and a few moves) from your residents. For individual sessions, conduct short, personalized music therapy using headphones. For groups, organize a fun sing-along time. You may even ask your residents’ families to build playlists or use music-streaming platforms with curated dementia playlists.

WHY IT WORKS

Music evokes memories and can improve mood and communication in dementia patients.

To wrap up

These activities will greatly help clients struggling with dementia. They are not just entertaining for them; they also help them connect with others and themselves while enhancing their well-being.