Unique Support Programmes
Unleashing the Potential of Caring - The Innovative Way
Caring for your elderly with dementia is not as rigid or mundane as it seems. Spice up your caring journey by engaging in interesting programmes to look forward to with your elderly. The unique support programmes that I will be suggesting in this article serve to provide distinct platforms that target one’s emotional, mental and social wellbeing which are key features when tackling dementia. These person-centred and innovative methods deviate from traditional approaches and are sure to be fresh and meaningful ways to boost your elderly’s mood, stimulate cognitive functions, self-expression and social interactions, contributing to the holistic overall well-being of your elderly.
THE 5 UNIQUE PROGRAMMES
Forge stronger relationships with your elderly and find joy in caring by participating in these 5 alternatives:
Music Therapy
Tapping on the power of music to evoke positive emotions and process their feelings, stimulate memories and senses. Foster bonds with individuals of similar tastes and improve dexterity when making music together
Art Therapy
A therapeutic and serene platform for your elderly to hone self-expression and creative thinking skills. Your elderly will develop a sense of purpose as they take ownership and devote attention to their masterpiece
Validation Therapy
Providing an empathetic environment by employing respectful communication techniques to acknowledge the unique feelings of your elderly, fostering emotional connection and reducing distress
Reminiscence Therapy
Stepping into the past with familiar recollections and memories which stimulate cognitive function, evokes feelings of nostalgia. This encourages communication and bridges gaps between loved ones
Animal-Assisted Therapy
Companionship through human-animal interactions alleviates negative feelings such as loneliness, provides comfort, and enhances social connection that can be applied to human-to-human interactions
MUSIC THERAPY
Music Therapy is an effective approach that utilises music to address emotional, cognitive, physical and social aspects of a person. For your elderly with dementia, the impact is greater where it delays the severity of dementia in a soothing and fun manner. Music Therapy involves the use of various musical activities, such as singing, listening to music, making music by playing instruments, and rhythmic movements, to engage your elderly in an entertaining way and stimulate their cognitive and sensory abilities.
Here are some ways in which Music Therapy can benefit elderly with dementia:
Mental: Music plays a big role in your elderly’s mental health as it activates regions of the brain through increased blood flow when their ears perceive music. Music making requires your elderly to follow instructions and remember the steps to the music. These stimulate cognitive functions, such as memory, focus and attention in elderly with dementia. Furthermore, familiar songs can also trigger memories and enable your elderly to reminisce about past experiences.
Emotional: Music has the ability to elicit emotions and can help your elderly to process their feelings. It aids in managing challenging negative behaviours commonly associated with dementia, such as agitation, restlessness, and aggression. Soft classical music alleviates negative emotions as it relaxes your elderly by providing serenity, reduces anxiety and depression, and improves mood. Familiar songs evoke a sense of nostalgia and comfort when listening with loved ones.
Social: Music can act as a common language and facilitate social interaction among elderly with dementia with similar tastes. Group music activities provide opportunities for communication, outlets for self-expression, and connection with others, sharing the same joy.
Physical: Music making from as simple as tapping a music instrument to dancing to the rhythm, involves motor skills, improves dexterity, coordination, and balance in your elderly.
Music Therapy is very versatile and should be tailored to the individual's preferences, abilities, and needs. While you can bring your elderly to a trained Music Therapist to assess your elderly and develop personalised music interventions, you can simply incorporate music into their daily routines to create a consistent supportive and stimulating environment for your elderly.
ART THERAPY
Brain Training games keep the mind active and stimulate cognition. They serve to improve overall brain health through single-player activities and social cohesion as well through interactive games. Upon completing each game, it provides your elderly with a deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Puzzle Games: Activities such as Jigsaw puzzles or Word Search puzzles help improve critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, memory recall.
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Jigsaw puzzles enhance visuo-spatial awareness, resulting in quicker reflexes and greater perception of their surroundings.
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Word games like Word Search or Scrabble broadens one’s language repository and improves communication skills. It also lowers blood pressure due to the game’s relaxing nature.
-
Sudoku maintains one’s logical thinking and decision-making skills
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Snakes and Ladders stimulates the brain mathematically and memory recall.
-
Chess is a strategic game that trains problem-solving skills and one’s mental thinking capacity.
Card games are versatile and compact, improving memory, concentration and attentiveness.
It enables your elderly to play many different games such as matching and other traditional games like Poker, 21 and Taiti. Ensure that the games are played safely, preferably with no money involved to prevent gambling.
Bingo is an effective game for social integration and mitigating loneliness while training one’s sight to search for numbers, listening skills to catch the numbers announced, and dexterity in using hands to write or dab out the numbers.
Mahjong is a traditional Chinese tile-based game that promotes social interaction, hand-eye coordination and attentiveness. Due to the speed and intensity of the game, mahjong is an efficient yet fun game to stimulate the brain.
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Online Games
Some of the abovementioned games can be available in App stores such as Sudoku, Word Search and even Mahjong. With the immense amount of novel online resources available, online brain stimulating games are easily accessible and beneficial too. Your elderly does not have to be well-versed with technology but is a good platform that provides multi sensory engagement, customisable difficulty levels and social interaction through multiplayer options. However, it is important to note the harms of overuse of technological devices and the potential scams there are online. Try to limit your elderly’s screentime to no more than 2 hours per day, depending on your elderly’s condition.
VALIDATION THERAPY
Brain Training games keep the mind active and stimulate cognition. They serve to improve overall brain health through single-player activities and social cohesion as well through interactive games. Upon completing each game, it provides your elderly with a deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Puzzle Games: Activities such as Jigsaw puzzles or Word Search puzzles help improve critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, memory recall.
-
Jigsaw puzzles enhance visuo-spatial awareness, resulting in quicker reflexes and greater perception of their surroundings.
-
Word games like Word Search or Scrabble broadens one’s language repository and improves communication skills. It also lowers blood pressure due to the game’s relaxing nature.
-
Sudoku maintains one’s logical thinking and decision-making skills
-
Snakes and Ladders stimulates the brain mathematically and memory recall.
-
Chess is a strategic game that trains problem-solving skills and one’s mental thinking capacity.
Card games are versatile and compact, improving memory, concentration and attentiveness.
It enables your elderly to play many different games such as matching and other traditional games like Poker, 21 and Taiti. Ensure that the games are played safely, preferably with no money involved to prevent gambling.
Bingo is an effective game for social integration and mitigating loneliness while training one’s sight to search for numbers, listening skills to catch the numbers announced, and dexterity in using hands to write or dab out the numbers.
Mahjong is a traditional Chinese tile-based game that promotes social interaction, hand-eye coordination and attentiveness. Due to the speed and intensity of the game, mahjong is an efficient yet fun game to stimulate the brain.
​
Online Games
Some of the abovementioned games can be available in App stores such as Sudoku, Word Search and even Mahjong. With the immense amount of novel online resources available, online brain stimulating games are easily accessible and beneficial too. Your elderly does not have to be well-versed with technology but is a good platform that provides multi sensory engagement, customisable difficulty levels and social interaction through multiplayer options. However, it is important to note the harms of overuse of technological devices and the potential scams there are online. Try to limit your elderly’s screentime to no more than 2 hours per day, depending on your elderly’s condition.
REMINISCENCE THERAPY
Brain Training games keep the mind active and stimulate cognition. They serve to improve overall brain health through single-player activities and social cohesion as well through interactive games. Upon completing each game, it provides your elderly with a deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Puzzle Games: Activities such as Jigsaw puzzles or Word Search puzzles help improve critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, memory recall.
-
Jigsaw puzzles enhance visuo-spatial awareness, resulting in quicker reflexes and greater perception of their surroundings.
-
Word games like Word Search or Scrabble broadens one’s language repository and improves communication skills. It also lowers blood pressure due to the game’s relaxing nature.
-
Sudoku maintains one’s logical thinking and decision-making skills
-
Snakes and Ladders stimulates the brain mathematically and memory recall.
-
Chess is a strategic game that trains problem-solving skills and one’s mental thinking capacity.
Card games are versatile and compact, improving memory, concentration and attentiveness.
It enables your elderly to play many different games such as matching and other traditional games like Poker, 21 and Taiti. Ensure that the games are played safely, preferably with no money involved to prevent gambling.
Bingo is an effective game for social integration and mitigating loneliness while training one’s sight to search for numbers, listening skills to catch the numbers announced, and dexterity in using hands to write or dab out the numbers.
Mahjong is a traditional Chinese tile-based game that promotes social interaction, hand-eye coordination and attentiveness. Due to the speed and intensity of the game, mahjong is an efficient yet fun game to stimulate the brain.
​
Online Games
Some of the abovementioned games can be available in App stores such as Sudoku, Word Search and even Mahjong. With the immense amount of novel online resources available, online brain stimulating games are easily accessible and beneficial too. Your elderly does not have to be well-versed with technology but is a good platform that provides multi sensory engagement, customisable difficulty levels and social interaction through multiplayer options. However, it is important to note the harms of overuse of technological devices and the potential scams there are online. Try to limit your elderly’s screentime to no more than 2 hours per day, depending on your elderly’s condition.
ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY
Brain Training games keep the mind active and stimulate cognition. They serve to improve overall brain health through single-player activities and social cohesion as well through interactive games. Upon completing each game, it provides your elderly with a deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Puzzle Games: Activities such as Jigsaw puzzles or Word Search puzzles help improve critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, memory recall.
-
Jigsaw puzzles enhance visuo-spatial awareness, resulting in quicker reflexes and greater perception of their surroundings.
-
Word games like Word Search or Scrabble broadens one’s language repository and improves communication skills. It also lowers blood pressure due to the game’s relaxing nature.
-
Sudoku maintains one’s logical thinking and decision-making skills
-
Snakes and Ladders stimulates the brain mathematically and memory recall.
-
Chess is a strategic game that trains problem-solving skills and one’s mental thinking capacity.
Card games are versatile and compact, improving memory, concentration and attentiveness.
It enables your elderly to play many different games such as matching and other traditional games like Poker, 21 and Taiti. Ensure that the games are played safely, preferably with no money involved to prevent gambling.
Bingo is an effective game for social integration and mitigating loneliness while training one’s sight to search for numbers, listening skills to catch the numbers announced, and dexterity in using hands to write or dab out the numbers.
Mahjong is a traditional Chinese tile-based game that promotes social interaction, hand-eye coordination and attentiveness. Due to the speed and intensity of the game, mahjong is an efficient yet fun game to stimulate the brain.
​
Online Games
Some of the abovementioned games can be available in App stores such as Sudoku, Word Search and even Mahjong. With the immense amount of novel online resources available, online brain stimulating games are easily accessible and beneficial too. Your elderly does not have to be well-versed with technology but is a good platform that provides multi sensory engagement, customisable difficulty levels and social interaction through multiplayer options. However, it is important to note the harms of overuse of technological devices and the potential scams there are online. Try to limit your elderly’s screentime to no more than 2 hours per day, depending on your elderly’s condition.