Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Why Games For Dementia Patients Is Important

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.

Activities and projects picked for the patients must match their abilities or skills. Because, this makes them feel independent and arouse feelings of ownership. The games may be altered to be either more or less difficult depending on personal abilities and skills. Interpersonal relationship between the caregiver and the demented may improve if they are engaged in games they enjoyed prior to the condition.

The aim of engaging demented individuals in activities is to encourage success and keep them happy. It is advisable to make the games free of failure. Patients are not to be corrected even if they are making mistakes so long as they are happy and engaged. Visual or verbal instructions should be given only if they are not met with hostility. Their hands could be guided gently when giving instructions.

Forms of destruction like crowds and noise must be managed to the lowest capacity possible in playing stations. The areas have to be kept safe. Safety may include keeping the playing area well lit, working with durable plastics, and keeping the surfaces or floors clean. Tiny objects, which are easy to swallow should be locked away from patients with advanced condition.

Favorite previous social activities are important part of people with the condition, although some patients usually forget this. Sorting games such as collecting pieces of same design, shape, or color together might be included into previous hobbies. Sorting names to respective equipment is one activity that a patient who enjoyed handling tools can be engaged in. Game fanatics may match playing cards according to positions and their best 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 demented persons respond to music better compared to other activities. Research shows that the capability to recall music normally remains intact during the later stages of the condition. They may be played their favorite songs and motivated to either sing along or dance. Some respond to activities around them and can join in the dance. Music fans with the condition should be encouraged to take part in live band music.




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