Suggestions for Short Visits.

[MrsMoose]

Fortunately my father in law's care home is very near to where we live.

He seems to appreciate regular visits.

However, his dementia problem has become really severe so that when we speak to him he often looks very confused. For example it's as if he's struggling to remember names of people who are in his immediate circle. Telling us anything about his daily life is more or less impossible other than a few stock remarks. ('The food is good. The people are kind.) Because he is physically frail and the weather is so cold, taking him out in a wheelchair doesn't seem that viable.

We just are at a bit of a loss and don't know quite what to do. Any ideas

(It is possible that other people with memory problems of this kind are chatty but in a repetitive sort of way which doesn't necessarily make much sense. But my father in law just seems very very absent.)

 

[Beate]

Some suggestions here:
http://www.dementiatoday.com/have-fun-today-101-activities-for-alzheimers-loved-ones/

 

[LadyA]

I used to occasionally take magazines in to look at with my husband. He loved nature/wildlife, so anything with a lot of pictures in. He also loved for me to just sit and watch TV with him, and inevitably, he'd fall asleep within minutes. But he enjoyed me being there, holding his hand as he fell asleep. It's not always necessary to keep up a conversation.

 

[MrsMoose]

Thanks. When he was in sheltered accommodation we might watch part of one of his favourite DVDs with him. Now he's in a care home he tends to want to sit in the quietest of the three sitting rooms. He's not a 'huggy' sort of man, so though I can see that touch is important it might not come naturally. A bit easier if we sat on one of the sofas with him.

The magazines idea is interesting. He used to quite like wildlife stuff too so maybe something with pictures of animals.