With a little bit of time and the right amount of planning, finding that special gift for your loved one with dementia can be less of a challenge than you think.
Depending on the stage and type of dementia your senior has, it’s best to try to focus on buying gifts that are encouraging and beneficial to them as a person and their overall lifestyle. It’s always nice to get things that you want – after all, isn’t that why we make Christmas lists in the first place? A senior loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia is no different.
But they could also benefit from more practical gifts in the later stages of the disease, when it’s more difficult for them to express or recall their likes and dislikes. No one knows your senior better than you do and there are times where understanding who they are, their habits and personality is the best way to determine what they need.
Freedom Home Care came up with a few ideas that might make it easier to find the perfect gift for the one you love this holiday season.
Early Stage Gift Ideas
Experts suggest in the early stages of cognitive decline that games of strategy such as crossword puzzles, activity books and board games, are all perfect gift ideas at this level. Things that help stimulate their brain, exercise their mind and make use of their hands will come in handy even years down the line.
Other mindful purchases include memory phones. This is a ten button picture phone with a speaker, amplified hearing and emergency button. Buttons for pictures and numbers are separate, making it easy to dial the person you want to reach in one easy step.
Middle Stage Gift Ideas
In the middle stages of dementia- anxiety, irritation and decreased awareness are only a few of the symptoms your loved might display. Some appropriate gift ideas for this phase would be the fun, yet practical, TwiddleCat Therapy Aid. The TwiddleCat Therapy pet provides stress relief for seniors when they’re feeling restless or anxious. It’s a soft, plushy animal that when held, becomes an effective sensory tool.
Help your loved one maintain valuable family connections with the Ancestry Paper Our Family Tree Chart. Providing a portrait of your family tree at a glance, the Family Tree Chart is a way to have meaningful conversations about family relationships, while preserving generational history.
Late Stage Gift Ideas
In the later stages of dementia, focusing on the care and comfort of your loved one becomes more meaningful than ever. Gifts like warm blankets or plush bathrobes are significant for them, even if they can not express it.
Music has been said to offer therapeutic properties, while evoking the senses and aiding recall. Wireless Bluetooth headphones are great gifts because they allow your senior to listen to their music as loud as they want without disturbing others.
Other great ideas include housecleaning services or Alzheimer’s care from a professional home care agency like Freedom Home Care that you trust. We’re here to meet all of your home care needs. Find out how, today! Call us today at (877) 262-1223.
