4 Activity Ideas for Late Stage Dementia
Are you caring for someone in the final stages of dementia or looking ahead to what you may have to do in the future and are not sure how you can stay connected to your person?
In this video, I am going to be sharing 4 activity ideas for the final stage of dementia, so by the end of this video, you will be able to use at least 1 of these activity ideas to get a win with connecting with your late stage dementia person. By the way, when you do get that win, comment it down below so we can celebrate you.
What is Late Stage Dementia?
Just so we are all on the same page, late stage dementia or the final stages of dementia look like your person with dementia
Needing 24/7 physical care.
They usually need help with everything: eating, dressing, moving around, bathing etc.
And oftentimes, they will struggle with communicating or taking in information you tell them
or worse a minority may instead scream a lot
Naturally, making sure your person with late stage dementia stays calm and is still living a good quality life is a challenge but not impossible.
What All Activities for Late Stage Dementia Has in Common
The main theme for all of these ideas is that in the final stages of dementia, when our folks lose the ability to communicate verbally, our folks connect to us and the world through their senses of taste, smell, touch, vision and hearing.
#1: Touch
Having familiar to interesting things to feel with their hands or on their body is a great way to connect with someone in late stage dementia. Some ideas of familiar tactile objects are:
Items you gathered with them like shells on a beach trip
Fidget blankets that give their hands something to do
Brushing their hair or massaging lotion on their hands and calling it a spa day
Sensory books where they can feel different textures while you describe to them what they are feeling
or bean bags that can feel soft and comforting to the touch
Especially if the items your person is touching is sentimental to them or other of you, it is a great opportunity to turn what would otherwise be mundane into a meaningful moment that will give you comfort when they are gone.
#2: Hearing
The main idea with sounds are for them to be familiar, not too loud and fairly calm. Some ideas are:
Playing a familiar song and talking to them about the memories it brings up for you
or giving your person headphones with calming music can be very helpful in keeping them calm and collected
How I would choose the music or sounds would be music from their teens, early 20s or even songs from their childhood or sounds like
Crashing waves or a babbling brook if it is relaxing to them or if it is familiar to them
The key for the best results despite there being significant memory loss that it is relevant to them as a person
#3: Smells
Like with sounds, smells are the most powerful when they are familiar.
Having aromatherapy, candles, good smelling lotions or shampoos
Smelling tasty food or treats
Familiar things like perfume or personal smells
#4: Taste
This heavily depends on if your person can eat and swallow but assuming they can, however here are some ideas:
Having them enjoy a sweet treat since our ability to detect sweet foods is one of the last things to go according to dementia dietitian Molly Robinson whom we did do an interview with
Having them be with you when you make food
Have them be the taste tester
#5 Vision
While this can be challenging if your person has vision issues, the main idea is having familiar and bright colored visuals like:
Familiar movies
Picture books with large photos with more bold colors that are easier to see
Your own photo albums is another way you can
Conclusion
So there you have it, 5 activity ideas for the late stages of dementia
Activities involving touch like sensory books, self-care activities or fidget blankets
Activities involving hearing like familiar music or nature sounds
Activities involving smell like aromatherapy, good smelling lotion or the smell of familiar treats
Activities involving trying foods they have a physical ability to enjoy
Activities involving looking at brightly colored photos, pictures or movies
Are all more than things to pass the time, they ensure your loved one or client gets the attention and quality of life they deserve and give you an easier time through your journey as a caregiver and more memories to look back on when the journey is over.
Try at least 1 of these 5 activities and see if you can get yourself a win with your loved one or client.
If you do, make sure to comment that win down below and while your at it, join my facebook group and share it with our community as well by clicking the link below.
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At Dementia Caregivers Success & Support Community, you will get:
Celebration for all you do as a caregiver that often gets overlooked
Support and answers to questions that come up as a dementia caregiver
The most kind and amazing community of folks going through what you are
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