Take Off the Pressure: 7 Creative Experiences to Try with Your Loved One with Dementia
great story on NPR last week about a program that encourages creativity among people with Alzheimer’s disease as a medium for meaningful, enjoyable communication with others. In the TimeSlips program, a facilitator shows folks a photo and encourages them to make up a story about the characters in the picture. Without the pressure of remembering who people are or what is supposed to be happening (as might happen when you’re looking at a family scrapbook), someone with memory loss can have a fun time making up a story about someone else’s life. Plus, as one researcher pointed out in the NPR piece, you don’t have to be a trained therapist to try out storytelling with your loved one. In fact, you can try it out for yourself on the TimeSlips website.
I really love this concept, because it lines up with two ideas that I preach all the time:
- Creative activities – music, storytelling, dance, art – are universal human experiences that can be meaningful, even for a person with memory loss.
- Caregivers can engage in creative activities with their loved ones as a means of connecting with them.
You simply get to enjoy the act of creation.
So, I had the fun of creating a list of creative experiences to try with your loved one. Most of them involve music, because that’s my area of expertise, but feel free to pull in your own areas of creative interest. Also, don’t forget – there is no wrong way to play! Bearing all safety concerns in mind (i.e. don’t forget to turn off the oven for #7), you cannot do these things wrong.Here are 7 creative experiences to try with your loved one with dementia:
- Try out the TimeSlips program. Seriously. It’s great.
- Get out some watercolors and paint what you hear while listening to some less-familiar music. I’d probably choose something classical, like this Bach Concerto.
- Improvise on the mini-marimba. You can see what that is like here.
- Do some scat singing along with a jazz CD or a sing-along accompaniment CD.
- Cut scraps of fabric into different shapes, then make a collage or a picture out of them. You can glue the scraps to a sturdy backing material, or if you’re super-crafty, turn them into a quilt.
- Make up a new dance. Put on some music, and let the music guide your movements.
- Bake some sugar cookies and go all out with the decorating. Then, give them away to your neighbors (at least some of them!).
Another great post with easy to use ideas. Love all your playful recommendations!
Thank you, JoAnn!
Another great creative post .
Thanks, Arlene!
Rachelle,
This is a lovely reminder that we can all enjoy (and benefit from) play. So often, caregivers get buried in the mountain of tasks and details involved in caring for their loved ones. I think that the permission you give to take a break from that and just enjoy one another is fantastic.
Warmly,
Ann
Thanks, Ann! I love the notion that finding a way to be creative together can be healing for both people – it’s a win-win situation as far as I’m concerned.
Rachelle,
I love your point that being creative takes the pressure to remember off the person with memory loss and the family member. So obvious, but not intuitive. Thanks for your practical suggestions.
Carolyn
Yes – obvious, but not intuitive. We can all do this, with the reminder that it’s okay!
Rachelle, This is a lovely post. I especially like the idea that creative activities can be a way to connect with someone you love. We know this intuitively about kids but it is just as true for adults. Thank you, Warmly, Allison
Yes! I consider it part of my personal mission to remind folks that playful music experiences don’t have to stop when your age gets into the double digits. Thanks for your comment!
I love how these ideas focus on relationship, not the performance of memory. Thanks for sharing. Barb Long
Yes, focusing on the relationship instead of the performance. Perfect! Thanks, Barb.