5 Activities to Keep Hands Busy for those with Alzheimer’s or dementias

5 Activities to Keep Hands Busy

I receive many requests about items to help the person with Alzheimer’s Dementia keep their hands busy.

My Mom loved to crochet. The only stitch she remembered after mid-stage dementia was the single crochet and chain stitch.

But she could still crochet in circles and created 100’s of Circular Hot Pads for use in the Group Home where she lived and as gifts for friends and family.

The “Group Home” proudly displayed Mom’s Hot Pads as table mats for the dining room table, smaller ones as glass coasters, and many for her friends as dresser scarves for their nightstands and dressers.

Mom crocheted endlessly but every stitch brought immeasurable pleasure. Her eyes would light up with each hot-pad she gave as a gift.

I hope your loved one finds something as fulfilling as my Mom’s crochet. As I’ve stated earlier, when my Mom finally forgot that very last stitch of crochet, she still colored in her coloring book until the end.

What I noticed most was that she wanted to keep her fingers and hands busy, almost like warding off some agitation in her fingers.

There was only one gentlemen in the Group Home where Mom stayed, but I noticed he enjoyed fiddling with large wooden beads. He would string them on a heavy cord, then take them off and string them again.

When mom could no longer crochet, she started coloring. She might color the entire page one color, or complete an intricate design with beautiful colors. It depended on her mood. All those Coloring pages are dear to me now.

Besides the calming affect of coloring, my mom ate better, slept better and was happier with her coloring books. They were a blessing, indeed.

A Walk in the Woods (Dover Nature Coloring Book) Adult Coloring Book: Stress Relieving Patterns Audubon’s Birds of America Coloring Book

A few ideas for nervous agitated finger activities are:

Large Wooden Beads – Yarn or twine for stringing them.
Crayons and Coloring Books – A calming effect for the person with dementia.
Word find books such as Seek and Find Words. My Mom loved these books too.
Crochet, Knit, finger knitting,
Paint small ceramics (Paint Colors – Do not frustrate with lots of choices)
Sound Blocks (shown above) These are cute blocks that can be moved and turned to create animals which produces the animal’s sound when the puzzle is solved. Lots of fun for the Man or Woman who love Puzzles.

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Many with Memory Loss love Jig Saw Puzzles with large pieces and I found that Search-a-Word Books kept Mom occupied for quite a while – She loved the books

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Ravensburger Under The Sea – 35 Pieces Puzzle On The Farm Jigsaw Puzzle 35pc Crayola Classic Color Pack Crayons, Wax, 96 Colors per Box (52-0096) Fiskars Gel Pen 48-Piece Value Set AmazaPens Gel Coloring Pens. Assorted 24 Pack – Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book Adult Coloring Book: Butterflies and Flowers : Stress Relieving Patterns Melissa & Doug Jenna – 12 Adora Playtime Baby – Dot, 13 VXB Brand G23 Bearing Balls, Chrome Steel, 1/4 Bicycle 130th Anniversary Playing Cards, Red Premium Set of 28 Double Six Dominoes with Wood Case, Brown

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Comments

Brittany Allen says
01/25 at 5:22 pm

My mom was diagnosed with alzheimers 4 years ago at 44… shes in the final stages now…we had to place her in a nursing home about 2 weeks ago…and all she wants is to go home… (which is wearing on my dad because they have to call him to come up there because she’s roaming the halls and going into everyones room looking for him) I may have to see if maybe some of these might help… we have also got a cedarwood mist going in her room because it is supposed to help alzheimers patients.

Reply
- Sandysgingham says
  01/26 at 12:01 pm
  
  Brittany, it does get more difficult in the later stages for sure.
  
  Some of these activities might be a good idea for her. It helped my Mom. Mom especially loved the baby dolls. She’d rather rock a baby doll than do the puzzles. She also liked crocheting too though.
  
  Thank you for sharing,
  Sandy
Organic Palace Queen says
01/07 at 11:22 am

My dear great aunt suffered from dementia, and I wish she had had more to keep her busy. I think it makes such a huge difference. Right now I know someone else with the same symptoms, but she’s doing much better. She also has a lot of activity and interaction.

Reply
- Sandysgingham says
  01/08 at 7:31 pm
  
  I think you are certainly right. I noticed the same thing. The ones who are kept more active seem to do so much better.
  
  Even my mother was better when she could walk every day. Then she had a bad knee and had to stay in and began a faster descent into dementia. Still, she crocheted and colored. She loved to color until the very end. Wish I had known about the Adult Color Books back then.
  
  But my mom did pretty well right up until the end with activity. She never just sat in chair for sure. And, I think you’re right, They do much better with activity.
  
  Sandy
Christy Schmid says
09/13 at 10:13 am

Please be careful with small items like that of a Bucky Ball – of course everyone is different – but many people with beyond stage 1 Alzheimer’s or other dementias, will stick anything they can in their mouth. Just a word of caution. Love all the other ideas listed for activity ideas.

Reply
- ~ Sandy says
  09/13 at 1:52 pm
  
  Christy,
  Thanks so much for that reminder. That is so true and a good caution to remember.
  
  ~Sandy
stephanie trump marrero says
10/17 at 5:05 pm

Thank you. Interesting you mention frontal lobe dementia. She was initially diagnosed with FTD, but after further testing, it was determined she had Alzheimer’s. My mom was diagnosed in 2008 and I’ve read that patients who were very active in life continue to be so with AD. I believe she is on Aricept already. The neurologist just prescribed an anti-anxiety medication. She has become very angry and defiant recently. Insomnia has also begun. My dad can no longer keep up with her. We are looking into placing her in assisted living within a memory unit. Physically, she is fine. Thin, but healthy. I appreciate your information and will pass it on to my dad.

Reply
stephanie trump marrero says
10/16 at 4:22 pm

i like your ideas for keeping alz patient’s busy. my mom, however, wiil not sit still. at any time. she is on the move from the time she wakes to bedtime. she mostly walk in our neighborhood with an aide, but when ‘stuck’ inside because of weather or darkness, she is on her feet moving from room to room. i don’t know what activities besides walking to do with her. i am 33 weeks pregnant and helping my dad care for her. we are both worn out with walking. :/

Reply
- ~ Sandy says
  10/16 at 5:10 pm
  
  Oh my goodness. I have heard of a few others who continuously walk but never had the problem with my own mother. It seems to be a behavior seen most often in those who have frontal lobe dementia. Some sort of connection that causes the “control center for inhibitions” to malfunction.
  
  Any compulsive behavior can be a symptom of Alzheimer’s and dementia, a deterioration of some part of the brain. I understand how difficult that would be for the caregivers, also, certainly walking with her all day just wouldn’t be possible. Though it sounds healthy, it might also be wearing on her bones and muscles.
  
  Some of the medications taken for Alzheimer’s cause different parts of the brain to connect better. If you haven’t done so already, it might be a good idea to mention this behavior to her doctor. I’m not talking about sedation, I’m sure that isn’t what you want either. But some medications such as Aricept and a few others are suppose to make the brain connections that are broken–work better. That could be the issue.
  
  I think a consult with her physician would be my first priority. He might have some other ideas, as well as dertermining whether her body is enduring all the walking without injury.
  
  Sandy