Creativity, adaptability, and lightheartedness are key ingredients to make dementia care fun and effective for both caregivers and seniors. It stands to reason then that a spontaneous activity like improvisation is an excellent way to connect and engage with someone struggling with cognitive challenges. Not only does it enable you to pivot and embrace unforeseen plot twists, but it helps you to find out more about the older adult with dementia in your care.
So, How Exactly Does Improv in Dementia Care Work?
The objective of improv in dementia care is to meet the person in their reality and to supply them with opportunities to express themselves in whatever way is natural and comfortable. It is about establishing an environment where the person is heard, respected, and never corrected. It requires more listening than talking, and accepting any thoughts or feelings a senior loved one would like to share.
Listed here are a couple of improv activity tips to try. After you have a sense of how it works, the sky is the limit! Use your own creativity and knowledge of the senior you are providing care for to develop ideas that will work best for you.
- “Yes, and…”: This is a simple but incredibly important strategy to incorporate throughout all of your interactions with someone with dementia. It is the opposite of the all-too common, “No, but…” where we might be inclined to correct something we know to be untrue. Instead, if the person with dementia says, “I need to bake cookies today for my son to take to school!” an appropriate response would be, “Yes, and tell me more about what is going on at school today.” Your goal is to agree with the individual and encourage them to keep the conversation going.
- Picnic: In this activity, you’re going to imagine you’re packing a picnic basket with items that start with each letter of the alphabet. Modify it accordingly based on the individual's ability level. And of course, any item they mention, whether it starts with the correct letter or not, is acceptable.
- What’s in the box?: Pretend you’re holding a box (or use a real, empty box). Simulate opening the box and peeking inside. Hand the box to the older adult and ask what they would choose to put into the box. You can use the “Yes, and…” prompt to encourage them to tell you more. Or, ask them to hand you back the box, and you make up what you think should go inside. Take turns passing back and forth as long as the senior is engaged and interested.
Our Alzheimer's care team has plenty of innovative suggestions to make each day the very best it can be for those we serve. Contact us online or call 519-915-4370 to learn more about how we can help make dementia care more fun and effective – for both of you – with skilled dementia care in Windsor and Essex counties.
