Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Advantages Of Games For Dementia Patients

By Iva Cannon


Every activity successfully completed by demented patients impacts heavily on their happiness. The games that the patients engage in enable them to be part of families or communities and keeps them engaged. Games for dementia patients can reduce agitation and depression. When taking care of the demented it is crucial to put more emphasis on the individual and not the condition.

Projects and activities chosen for the demented should match their skills. As this, helps give them a feeling of independence and ownership. Games for dementia patients can be modified to be less or more challenging depending on the skills of the patient. Emotional connection between a caregiver and a demented person can also improve if they engage them in games they used to enjoy before the condition.

The objective of engaging people in activities is usually to promote happiness and improve realize self actualization. Games for people with dementia should be free of failure. Patients should not be corrected if they make mistakes provided they are engaged and happy. Verbal or visual instructions are to be issued only if entertained. Their hands may be guided around gently while giving instructions.

All forms of interference like crowds and noise should be kept at minimum levels in playing areas. Safety should be prioritized in such areas. This may include maintaining surfaces or floors clean, keeping the playing area well lit, and working with durable plastics. Small playing objects that can be swallowed easily have to be kept away from the demented in advanced stages of the condition.

Previous favorite social activities remain significant part of the demented, although some may have forgotten what they used to do before developing the condition. Sorting games like collecting objects of same shape, design, or color together can be incorporated into their hobbies. Matching names to respective tools is a game that patients who enjoyed working tools can engage in. Game lovers may sort playing cards by position or favorite teams.

Patients could be engaged in playing catch, solving puzzles, and shopping scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunt may involve giving the patient a list of items that they must search for in malls or groceries. In addition, they may be required to pick items with the lowest prices. Puzzles could be in form of cut family photos. The photo can be cut into three or four pieces for a start.

Favorite quotes like lines of prayer might be written on separate sheets of paper then the patient is asked to re-order them into sensible words. They may be given various words presented as shuffled blocks with varying sets of solution. The letters could be names of their children, pets, favorite actors, heroes, or mentors. The are to be exposed to varying difficulty levels as time goes by.

Some patients respond better to music than other activities. Research indicates that the ability to process music usually remain intact during the late phases of the condition. They may be played their best songs and encouraged to dance or sing along. Some patients respond to activities going on around them and may join in dancing. Patients can be encouraged to be part of live band music.




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