subject: Memory Enhancers For Someone With Alzheimer's [print this page] The following ideas are easy to implement and will help you manage the daily life of a person with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.
If you're picking someone with early dementia up for an appointment, call right before you leave the house as a reminder that you're on your way. Don't call first thing in the morning for an afternoon appointment. When phone reminders are given too far in advance, it may cause confusion, and he or she may start getting ready to leave right away, then wonder where you are.
Clutter and mess can confuse and distract people with Alzheimer's, causing them to forget where they placed or stored items or making them less able to handle certain tasks, like paying bills. Toss old periodicals and junk mail weekly. If someone comes in to clean the home, be sure the employee tidies surfaces and clears old papers -- without drastically rearranging things, which can be confusing.
If the person you're caring for has lots of different faces to deal with -- a meals-on-wheels volunteer, rotating home-health aides, adult daycare workers, physical therapists, doctors -- try taking snapshots of them and placing these in a special album or even on a bulletin board in plain view. Label them with each person's name and relationship to the person in your care. You can refer to the pictures as prompts before a scheduled meeting.
Simple stretching and other regular movement, whether it's done indoors or outside, is thought to slow the advance of Alzheimer's symptoms. If the person in your care previously enjoyed walking, golf, or other exercise, try to find ways to continue it.
