If you have residents with dementia who fidget quite a bit, then try implementing one of these products to help ease your residents’ anxiety.
1. Chewable Necklaces
Provide your residents with chewable rainbow pendant necklaces or chewable dog tag pendant necklaces to wear, so that they can place the pendant in their mouths to chew to help release some of their worry. The pendants are toxin-free and safe.
2. Weighted Blankets
Help your anxious residents feel safer and more secure by covering them with a weighted blanket. Use the blanket during the day when your residents feel uneasy or in the evening to help your residents get to sleep quicker. When your resident is not able to use a large blanket, like during the day or in an activity, use a lap pad instead.
3. Visual Stimulation
Help engage your residents with visual stimulation that can captivate your residents’ attention. For instance, provide residents with sequin discs that come in different colors that allow your residents to use their fingers to move the sequins so that they change colors. Another fun stimulation tool is a fabric fidget maze, a lap maze in which residents can maneuver an entrapped marble through the maze using their fingers.
4. Comfort Animals
If your residents enjoy animals, then consider using either Theo the Therapy Dog or Chloé the Comfort Cat as a comfort pet that can sit with your resident. Both animals include hot/cold packs that you can place in a microwave or a refrigerator to make the animal cooler or warmer to touch. The animals also emit a relaxing lavender scent to help calm your residents.
5. Auditory Stimulation
Invite residents to use stimulation objects to calm them through sound. For example, use rain sticks to provide rhythmic rain-like sounds each time the stick is turned. In addition, if your residents used to play the piano, then use a lightweight and cordless silicone piano for your resident to play soothing piano music. Finally, set out an animatronic bird to provide realistic bird sounds for residents. The birds can be attached to a cart or walker.
Find more ideas from Notjustbingo on the S&S blog here.
About Not Just Bingo:
Not Just Bingo is an online resource of fun, senior activity ideas for activity professionals of assisted living facilities. They have been providing fun activity ideas online since 2009, and continue to assist activity professionals across the country by creating meaningful and engaging activity ideas for their residents that go “beyond bingo.” Not Just Bingo feels privileged to help activity directors better the living experiences of their residents while demonstrating that a senior’s quality of life can actually improve when they move to a senior facility!
Want even more ideas each month? Visit www.notjustbingo.com for how-to activity ideas, monthly newsletters, and daily holiday ideas. You can also sign up for the Notjustbingo Membership to receive specialized activity ideas to keep your residents and staff engaged, active, and having fun!
