Strategies for Positive Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care

Are you caring for a loved one with dementia? You don't have to figure this out all on your own. Welcome to Truth, Lies Alzheimer's, the show that helps you reimagine a new relationship with your loved one, a relationship a little more free of stress and anxiety. Join host Lisa Skinner and her 30+ years of experience as she guides you on a new path to a better relationship with those you care for. Here's Lisa.

Hi everybody, this is Lisa Skinner with another brand new episode of The Truth, Lies Alzheimer's Show. And today I want to bring up something that I think we all struggle with as caregivers. For our loved ones living with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. We are forever trying to come up with creative ways that will promote engagement, comfort, and well-being that will result in positive experiences and outcomes for everybody, us and our loved ones. So today I'm gonna help you with, uh, that by sharing known strategies that will help you accomplish that goal. I'll tell you, it's a lot better than constantly being in a state of stress and trying to defuse stressful situations that pop up on a daily basis. With people living with dementia, and I think we've all been there. So I've got 15 strategies to share with you today that will help individuals living with dementia respond positively to these approaches and strategies that will definitely promote engagement, comfort, and well-being. So here are some of the key areas that I'm gonna focus on today. The first one is in familiarity and routine. And the key to that is by offering consistency because maintaining a regular daily routine has shown to help provide a sense of security and predictability. And then, of course, offering familiar environments. Being in a familiar setting can reduce anxiety and promote comfort. We know this. Communicating gently, using simple language, and with that I mean using clear, straightforward language to facilitate understanding. Understanding and encourage communication. Remember, people living with dementia cannot process information at the same speed that they used to when their brains were healthy. So if you're having a normal conversation like you do with a friend, with somebody living with dementia, they can't process that information that quickly. So again, Use clear, straightforward language in a positive tone. That's really important. Be mindful to be calm. Use a reassuring voice because this can help create a very comforting atmosphere. People with dementia pick up on your moods. They absorb them, and then they mirror them. Offer emotional validation by number one, acknowledging their feelings, validating their emotions and concerns. This will foster a sense of understanding and connection for them. Show empathy. Showing empathy can help alleviate feelings of frustration and sadness. We want that. Uh, the next area of focus is to engage them in meaningful and purposeful and joyful activities. A meaningful activity would be involving them in activities that they once enjoyed, such as gardening, cooking, or crafting. These can certainly evoke positive emotions, and this is where a person-centered approach to care comes into play. You need to know what your person enjoyed doing in their younger years and then provide them with those activities because what they're familiar to them. And they will promote that purpose and meaning that we're all looking for. One activity that I would suggest would be to play a simple game or help with a simple puzzle, because these type of activities stimulate cognitive function without overwhelming them and can be extremely beneficial. But I want to emphasize with that, everybody is in a different stage of their dementia. So make sure if you play a game or offer a puzzle, it's going to be at their current skill level. Otherwise, it will overwhelm them and create anxiety and frustration if it's, you know, just way too complicated at their particular stage of the disease. Now, this is a winner all the way around: music and art. And the key here is to provide them with music that is familiar to them, knowing what they liked to listen to in their younger years. Because listening to music that they love evokes memories and promotes positive emotions and keeps them connected to their lives. Encouraging artistic activities such as painting or drawing can provide a valuable outlet for expression. For creative expressions. And then this area is extremely important to provide physical touch, a gentle touch, holding hands, hugging, a gentle pat on the back. These all provide reassurance and comfort. And as we know, it's one of our very basic human needs. We all crave these things, even people living with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. You can try massaging or hand-holding because these actions promote relaxation and a sense of safety to people living with dementia. We've got to promote social interaction with family and friends. Regular interaction with loved ones can boost moods and decrease feelings of isolation. Isolation leads to depression. Depression can actually speed up the decline of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. You can engage them in supportive group activities. Engaging in group activities with their peers enhances social connections and enjoyment. And another suggestion for a really positive activity is in nature. And outdoor activities. Spending time outdoors, whether in a garden or park, improves mood and reduces agitation. This is based on studies and scientific research. And then engaging in gentle exercise, activities like walking or light stretching can promote physical well-being And of course, positive feelings we know come out of that. Then there's sensory stimulation, and that includes tactile activities, engaging them with objects that stimulate their senses, all 5, such as textured fabrics, scented items. These all can provide comfort And interest. Baking cookies, those set off invaluable memories, trigger invaluable memories for people living with dementia. It reminds them maybe of holidays or their mother when they were younger baking cookies. Those are all really important activities that help stimulate and trigger their memories and create positive meaningful experiences for them, brings out those positive emotions. You could try aromatherapy. Pleasant scents, we know, can invoke positive memories and create a calming environment. The next area is by offering an environment that includes familiar faces and familiar caregivers. One of the things that we've seen, people living with dementia, is that if they are able to build relationships with familiar caregivers, that this fosters trust and comfort for them. Family visits are important. Encouraging visits from family members can enhance feelings of safety as well as happiness. And then there's positive reinforcement. We all need positive reinforcement. So I suggest praise and encouragement. Acknowledge their efforts and achievements no matter how small they are. These— this can boost self-esteem, and motivation. And the thing is, is it may seem like it's a really small thing to you, but to them it could be a huge deal and just make them feel so good about themselves. Practice mindfulness and relaxation techniques. There are calming activities that we can engage them in such as gentle breathing exercises or meditation. These can help reduce anxiety. Soothing music or sounds, playing calming music or nature sounds, that's a great suggestion. This can create a peaceful atmosphere. Birds chirping, the sound of, um, waves in the ocean, All of these things are really effective for accomplishing that. And then including their involvement in daily tasks by encouraging participation. You could involve them in simple household tasks, and this can foster a sense of purpose and accomplishment. So let me give you an example. Let's say the person that you are caring for, you know that in their younger years they were a homemaker and she raised several children. And probably a lot of her daily duties was to do laundry, and when the dryer went off, she would take that laundry out of the dryer and fold them. So offer her towels to fold and say, "Gosh, I could really use your help with this." And just that simple task will help them feel as though they still have a purpose and are contributing to the daily tasks that happen in our households every day. Give them choice. This helps them feel like they still have some control and have not completely lost all of their independence. So allow them to make choices. For example, what to wear or what to eat. This can enhance feelings of autonomy, but the caveat to that is Don't offer too many choices, like maybe two different things to choose from, this or that. By focusing on these positive responses, we can create a nurturing environment that enhances the quality of life for individuals living with dementia. And it also fosters emotional well-being and a sense of connection. So I'm going to give you two more, and this one I've talked about in previous episodes. It's implementing reminiscence therapy into your caregiving plan, and you can do this by sharing memories, engaging in conversations about their past using photo albums or memory boxes, These things can evoke positive feelings and stimulate conversations with them. There's also storytelling. People living with dementia, believe it or not, they love to tell stories. You just have to kind of draw it out of them. Encourage them to share stories from their life, and this will help foster connection and Pride. So I, in a, another episode, I am actually going to provide you with questions that you can ask to draw stories out of the people you're caring for and/or your family members. And then the last one today is in customized activities. And again, to pull this off effectively, you need to know what their personal interests either are or were or maybe both. What they were, possibly still are, because it's familiar to them. It's what, it's what they will remember. So tailoring activities to their personal interests and hobbies will enhance engagement and enjoyment. And pet therapy is a winner. Interaction with animals can provide comfort and joy, as pets often evoke positive emotions. I was watching on TV the other day that Daryl Hannah the actress. You might all remember her from the movie Splash with Tom Hanks. And what she is doing now really caught my attention. She takes these little horses around to memory care units and assisted living, um, and does pet therapy with these two miniature horses And they were interviewing the people that were engaged with, in her pet therapy. And she goes all over Southern California. She also takes them to just independent living, elder, more elder care settings, independent, assisted living, and memory care. And the people who were, you know, higher functioning or independent were being interviewed and saying When Darrell shows up with her horses, this is our best day. We look forward to her visits. We love the animals. It makes us feel wonderful. We love petting their fur. And it was so positive that I thought I would share that with you. This just— I just saw this very recently, but I've seen that happen in people with pet therapy. When I worked in buildings, there were organizations that would bring different pets in, and our residents loved them. And then to have that reinforced in this interview with Darrell— what Darrell Hanna is doing just kind of gave me such a warm and fuzzy feeling that I wanted to just make sure that that's a really important part of people's day and life when they live with cognitive impairment, but also just as we age and become more sedentary. These are things that people just really enjoy. So anyway, I hope this information has been really helpful to you today. And I will be back next week with another new episode of the Truth, Lies Alzheimer's Show. I'm Lisa Skinner, your host, and I hope all of you have a healthy and happy rest of your week, and I look forward to having you come back next week. Bye for now.

Thank you for listening to Truth, Lies Alzheimer's. We hope you found something in today's episode that helps. We understand that caring for a loved one with dementia can be the challenge of a lifetime, but you don't have to do it alone. If you're ready for exclusive access to even more great content and resources, head on over to Facebook and join Lisa Skinner's Minding Dementia support group, where a community of like-minded caregivers And we're here to help.