hi i am new on here i was wondering if anyone on here could give me any advice about caring for a loved with dementia during covid 19 lockdown, i care for for my dad who has dementia he is always constnatly worrying has anyone on here got ant good tips and activities to help i would be very grateful thanks
caring for a loved one with dementia during lockdown
- Thread starter lemoncake94
- Start date
Hello @lemoncake94 . Welcome to Talking Point. I hope you and your Dad are doing ok. It's a particularly difficult time to be caring for someone with dementia.
Does your Dad enjoy music? It's very good for lifting the mood and surprising how music and lyrics stay in the memory, so he may sing/hum along. Audio books can be useful and absorbing if your Dad is able to follow a story or might enjoy poetry. One of the gentlemen at my mum's care home is engrossed in word search puzzles for a lot of the time. Lego might be good if you don't think he would find that patronising. Difficult to say without knowing your Dad but I hope some of that is useful. What did your Dad do for a living?
Does your Dad enjoy music? It's very good for lifting the mood and surprising how music and lyrics stay in the memory, so he may sing/hum along. Audio books can be useful and absorbing if your Dad is able to follow a story or might enjoy poetry. One of the gentlemen at my mum's care home is engrossed in word search puzzles for a lot of the time. Lego might be good if you don't think he would find that patronising. Difficult to say without knowing your Dad but I hope some of that is useful. What did your Dad do for a living?
One thing I might try with my Dad is some technology though I’m not sure he will use it. As he doesn’t have anyone often to talk to I was thinking about setting him up with an Alexa so he could listen to music and hear the news, spoken books etc. I just don’t think he will. Maybe my mum will.
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I used to buy wooden toy kits for my father. Cars, boats, planes etc that he could make and then paint. When his dementia advanced he had a care visit when he and his carer would sit and make them together. There are all sorts of 3D puzzles and kits if you do an online search
Welcome to Dementia Talking Point @lemoncake94
Anxiety is common with dementia. When my dad got himself into an anxiety/ worry cycle I would tell him that I would sort out whatever it was that was bothering him - even if it wasn’t a real worry!
Many people have found this very helpful https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/threads/compassionate-communication-with-the-memory-impaired.30801/. I hope you will too
Anxiety is common with dementia. When my dad got himself into an anxiety/ worry cycle I would tell him that I would sort out whatever it was that was bothering him - even if it wasn’t a real worry!
Many people have found this very helpful https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/threads/compassionate-communication-with-the-memory-impaired.30801/. I hope you will too
Dear @lemoncake94
Hard to answer without a bit more detail so I will have to make a few assumptions. I live with my mum.
1) There is the old adage a busy person has no time to worry. At nearly 90yo and other health problems there are limits to what mum can do. Hence we work as a team. I iron mum folds. I wash up and mum dries. Mum “helps” me make and change the beds. We have gentle walks in the alley where a white cat has adopted us as his odd couple to observe. Mum talks to him, gives him a name, remembers to look out for him but has no short term memory on virtually everything else??? Guess we are the A Team.
2) Mum reads her magazine frequently to me the same article over and over. She loves her word search puzzles. We work on a record of her earlier years. Freeview repeats are a god send. She thinks Lovejoy is a bit of alright as she did in the 1980s, the music from The Bill always gets her attention, As Time Goes By, Jim Reeves CDs, etc. Please appreciate a PWD can most likely watch a programme or read a book or magazine over and over, each time being like the first.
3) Always be mindful your dad’s anxiety might at times be genuine. We’re the lights turned out before we came to bed, are the doors locked, etc. Just answer patiently and if repeated try distraction.
Glad you found this forum but it is a balancing act at times. You need to be careful what details you give out but some general detail will help others reply. For example do you live with your dad, how good is his mobility, eyesight if an issue. Please continue to use this forum.
Hard to answer without a bit more detail so I will have to make a few assumptions. I live with my mum.
1) There is the old adage a busy person has no time to worry. At nearly 90yo and other health problems there are limits to what mum can do. Hence we work as a team. I iron mum folds. I wash up and mum dries. Mum “helps” me make and change the beds. We have gentle walks in the alley where a white cat has adopted us as his odd couple to observe. Mum talks to him, gives him a name, remembers to look out for him but has no short term memory on virtually everything else??? Guess we are the A Team.
2) Mum reads her magazine frequently to me the same article over and over. She loves her word search puzzles. We work on a record of her earlier years. Freeview repeats are a god send. She thinks Lovejoy is a bit of alright as she did in the 1980s, the music from The Bill always gets her attention, As Time Goes By, Jim Reeves CDs, etc. Please appreciate a PWD can most likely watch a programme or read a book or magazine over and over, each time being like the first.
3) Always be mindful your dad’s anxiety might at times be genuine. We’re the lights turned out before we came to bed, are the doors locked, etc. Just answer patiently and if repeated try distraction.
Glad you found this forum but it is a balancing act at times. You need to be careful what details you give out but some general detail will help others reply. For example do you live with your dad, how good is his mobility, eyesight if an issue. Please continue to use this forum.
