Specialized Activities for People in the Early Stage of ...



Specialized Activities for People in the Early Stage of Dementia

 Meeting the particular needs of individuals in this Early Stage of memory loss. The focus of this fun, informative chat is designing and implementing activities that are enriching, engaging and build on existing strengths and abilities.  

 Moderator: Kristin Einberger, Consultant, Early Memory Loss

 Date: April 19th, 2006

Kristin Three things I would like everyone to consider in planning act. for people with eml: learning styles, using the senses and whole brain/right brain activities.

Kristin First of all, we need to pay attention to each person's learning styles - do they learn best by seeing, hearing our touching and feeling? We then need to make sure that we address all these styles when we're planning act. Besides talking, use visual aids such as maps, bring in things that people can actually touch - like a globe or something to do with the focus of the activity.

Kristin In terms of senses, it's important to use all 5 of them, not just hearing and seeing. Odor triggers

Kristin 1.Be sure and address all 3 learning styles. Most people are strongest in 1 of these areas - visual, auditory or tactile/kinest. Use visual aids such as maps. Use items that people can actually touch - globes, handouts, items that go along with the theme of the activity. 2. Use as many senses as possible in activities - not just seeing and hearing. Odors trigger memories more than any other sense so this is especially important. Taste things, smell things, really observe things, listen for unique sounds, touch and feel things. Encourage people to really, really pay attention - with all their senses. 3. Use whole brain activities and a lot of right brain activities. These are activities which bring out the creative side of people - using their imaginations, etc. People with eml tend to lose their left brain abilities sooner than right brain so we want to make sure those right brains are as strong as possible

carmen A big welcome to all who have joined us for this Early Stage Activities chat today. We will begin in just a few minutes.

carmen It is time for the chat session, which will continue for one hour. Kristin will begin and we will all have a chance to ask questions as well. Heeere's Kristin!

eyuen Hi Kristin and everyone

Kristin Glad you're all here for this very important topic!!

Gretchen good day to all

Kristin EML is my passion and activities are all important. They need to be specialized to serve this population

Kristin thankj you

Kristin Trivia should be used only as a vehicle, not a means unto itself. Foir instance

Kristin Who is one of the most prolific inventors?

Kristin Ed is the answer but then - what sere some of thosse inventions? What are the mostimportant inventions ever? What would you iinvent if you could invent anything? etc. etc.

carmen Why is the consideration of adult learning styles important in planning early stage activities?

Kristin Let me recap. 3 important things to remember in planning activities. Make sure to address all learning styles, not just auditory

Kristin We tend to leave out much for the visual learner and those that learn best by feeling/touching

Kristin Secondly, be sure and use activities that use all the senses

Kristin Again, we're usually good with hearing and visual but not so much the other 3. Odor triggers memories more than other senses so it's impportant to use this sense in our activitgies

eyuen can you give some examples of that?

Kristin Thirdly, use whole brain activities but especially right brain. People with eml lose abilities in their left brain earlier so we want to make sure we encourage the right brain with creative activiyties.

carmen How do you assess learning styles wih members?

Kristin Smelling - what are some things with a strong smell? Have a 'blind'smell test. Go outside and smell all that you can, etc.

Kristin I have a learning styles test if people want to email me later. Otherwiswe can usually tell just by how people seem to takein information best

Patty Kristin-I would like your e-mail address

Kristin Regarding the other senses, encourage people to really, really pay attention - be aware of everyting around them - smells, tastes, things they see, things they can touch and things they can hear

Kristin keinberger@

Kristin Observe things in the room, close eyes, say or write down what you've seen and then review. Encourage people to do the same outside of the program

Kristin What can we hear if we really, really listen. List all these thing. Outside - inside. If we really pay close attention, it's amazing all that can be heard - from a loud truck to your heart beating

carmen Do you recommend outings for early stage program members? If so what considerations should be taken in planning?

Kristin Outings can indeed be good but I thinkthey're best kept to special occasions. People that I've encountered like consistency. They are set on working on their memories as much as possible

Kristin Feedback I've received is that our group members want information. Thye like to play, etc, too but most of all, they want ways to improve their memories

Kristin What do you all think?

carmen Tell us a bit more about ways that members can work on their memories.

Kristin We work on these constantly. How can be best remember names? How can we reduce stress to improve memory? How can we learn to really, really pay attention - to really observe all that's goijng on around us? This is how we can best strengthen. Stop trying to multi task. (None of us do this right???)

eyuen sorry backtrack... on the occasions that outings are done, have you ever encountered or heard of problems with wandering? Would you recommend (extra) volunteers?

Kristin Absolutely - when you take people out of the environment that they are used to, things are bound to come up. Most with true eml would not wander but they may become a bit more confused. More volunteers are always welcome but make sure they know eml!

Kristin Does anyone work specifically with people with eml and have you found activities that really work well?

Patty what dose eml stand for???????

Kristin Another thing to consider with eml act. is to constantly get feedback from participatns - they are our best teachers

carmen Are there Early Memory Loss (EML) books or resources you could recommend?

Kristin early memory loss - sorry

jennifer_nowak Hi Kristin, One of our favorite activities is storytime- using a picture and developing a story around it- it really uses their creativity

Kristin My writing parnter Janelle Sellick and I have written a book on Strengthening Your Mind - Activities for people with EML soon to be published by Health Pro Press.

Kristin Thanks Jen. Encouraging creativity is one of the best things we can do for this population

carmen The best friends

Kristin Other resources - is one of the best

Kristin others - Right brain Activities/Mind your Mind/Movement with Meaning/Aerobics of the Mind

eyuen Is that TimeSlips- creative storytelling project, Jen?

carmen The Best friend's Acitivites book also through health Pro press has some guidance for early stagw approaches, although the book is not specific to early stage programming. There is not much out there yet so Hurrah for your new book

Kristin We do crossword puzzles frequently. We have a big, erasable grid. I copy off the questions for each individual - then we do it altogther. They love it!!

jennifer_nowak Yes- my staff went through the training

Patty with eml it seems to take the men more encouagement than the women to be creative. Do you find this to be true?

Kristin Right - there isn't much out there. We have to be careful that act. we provide to this population are appropriate - challenging but not too frustrating - just on the border!!!

Kristin As for the men, I find that it's dependent upon the activity. Many of ours are more geared to females, even though we try for that not to be the case

jennifer_nowak Actually in our group the men and women are both very creative-both enjoy painting to music/developing stories

Gretchen how can we change that(for the men)

Kristin As for male/female, I like to do small group activities - mixed with men and women. Also sometimes it's good to add a little competitioh between m/f. The males especially love this!!

jennifer_nowak I find that it is important toknow their interests and likes.

Kristin Find more male oriented activities - trivia topics. Name as many makes of cars as you can. This was the favorite ever of one of my groups. They took great pride in coming up with over 150 - most I hadn't heard of.

Kristin Absollutely important to really know each participant - as Jen said. find out what they like. Let members be the impetus for topics

carmen How do you use music best in early stage programs

Janelle It is especially important to know past leisure interests becuase of the loss that comes with having to stop working. There have been younger individuals in our programs that have just recently retired d/t their memory loss.

Kristin Music is all important but it's important not to use music with words as background. Remember it's most impportant to limit distractions. Use music for music's sake. Name that tune, occasional entertainers, sing alongs to encourage reminiscence

jennifer_nowak We use it for painting to music and for discussing moods.feelings such as what do you think of with this song

eyuen that's a good tip- no added stimulus

Kristin Perfect

carmen What might you say about the use of humor?

Janelle Music trivia is fun, talking aobut favorite musicians and songs. Last week we joined another group and watched an Elvis impersonator. They loved it!

Kristin For men - A-Z game focusing on male topics , geography using maps, etc

Victor Pam, what is that unusual musical device you use?

Kristin Instruments would be great because they encourage those that are tactile/kin

Janelle Also, if you can collaborate with a music therpist, or find an MT intern that can occasionally visit, they are a great resource.

Kristin They also use more of the senses

Kristin Not the music therapists - the instruments!!!!

pamjela_dodge Qchord

Victor Tell them a little about it

Melinda Can anyone work with those with EML or is special training required? If so, where can you get such training? If not, is there a curriculum that can be used?

Kristin Men (and women) also seem to really enjoy things like taste tests - especially if it's ice cream or some other yummy treat

pamjela_dodge It is shaped like a guitar with an interactive keyboard and strings. You can play independently or it uses cassettes.

Kristin Special training is absolutely required. I think it takes professionals. Tough issues like driving come up all the time and it takes someone trained to deal with these effectively

Janelle Also, someone who knows how to identify and plan activites that will meet their needs.

Kristin Hopefully there will soon be a curriculum Resources in eml field are sadly lacking but some of us are trying to change that!!!

Mary_Ann Are you saying professional only...or professional with volunteers?

Patty AARP has great information for families with loved ones who are still driving, that need to stop.

Kristin As far as I know, there is no special training currently available specifically for act. for this pop. Do you know of any Jen?

Janelle We want to make sure that people are not just taking activities from a traditional model program and applying them to people with eml - they need and want so much more.

Kristin Professionals. Volunteers can help with some roles but as for the actual running of the groups, I think prof. are best

Kristin AARP is a great resource

jennifer_nowak NO there is no special training that I know about

Janelle Also, as Kristin mentioned, consistency is important, so we advocate that volunteers, if used, commite to the program long term.

carmen It seems that volunteers working with early stage members would benefit from specialized training

jennifer_nowak I would agree professionals are best with running the group -we have 1 volunteer to assist with the extras

Kristin Right - it's important to have the same people there each, as much as possible. We find that people with eml really tune in to the leaders and want them there .

Mary_Ann What is the ideal ratio of professional to particpants?

Kristin Volunteers would absolutely need special training and a real commitment

Kristin Ratio - depends on the make-up of the group but I would say 12 should be the max members and that would require 2 staff

Patty there are classes in Oregon at our comm. college that offer training in ativites for eml and late stage Alz and dementia I would encourage all to take and look and see if there is something in your areaa

Kristin A third to pass out things, set up for lunch if necessary, make copies, etc would be helpful

Janelle that classes sound intersting, a great idea

Kristin What's the name of the college

Patty Portland State I'll try to find the Lady's name and course while we are chatting

Kristin Another resource which probably everyone uses is the I get sooooo I get so much info from there. There is a trivia quiz (or 50) for every topic you can think of.

Laurie Where can I find these trivia Quizes

Kristin Another topic that everyone seems to enjoy is occupations. What did everyone do for a living? What would you like to have done? What do some famous people do? Maybe play What's My Line

carmen What are some more examples of memory enhancement activities in which you engage members?

Kristin Trivia quizes - just put a topic like famous pets trivia and lots will come up

Janelle We love A-Z lists, pick a topic and list as many things as you can that begin with each letter of the alphabet

Victor I just did a quick google and these were right off the top

Victor Suddenly Senior. BEST SENIOR TRIVIA ANYWHERE IN THE WORLDThis "Older Than Dirt" Suddenly Senior Trivia Quiz will show you how much you remember! ... They're all part of this week's Suddenly Senior Trivia Quiz. ... triviapage.html - 28k - Cached - Similar pages Suddenly Senior.4TH ANNUAL "OLDER THAN DIRT" TRIVIA QUIZ "OLDER ...A fresh, funny look at seniordom that features humor, hope, and harmony to those over 50 who've become 'senior before their time. Changes weekly. trivia4thannualads.html - 25k - Cached - Similar pages Aging & Anti-Aging Trivia QuizAging & Anti-Aging Trivia Quiz -- FREE GAME. ... Herbert Hoover: Dwight Eisenhower: Ronald Reagan: George Bush (Senior) ... aging.mv - 5k - Cached - Similar pages

Janelle Thanks Victor!

Kristin Using a map to talk about vacation places. Bring a globe for those tactile learners. People love to talk about where they've been or where they would like to go if they won the lottery

Patty sorry the copllege is Clackmas Comm and her first name is Kathy, trying to rem last name.

carmen Do you have folks do homework?

Victor Carmen has gone right to the heart of the matter

Kristin Absolutely - every session. This is very iimportant to encourage consistency, to encourage new learning and strengthen that that they've learned

pamjela_dodge We find that caregivers have so much to do they may feel like that is one more thing to oversee.

Patty NO Home work that just puts more presure on family as well as clients

jennifer_nowak we do- people enjoy doing it

Patty what kind of home work??

eyuen homework gives the family or carepartners/ caregivers an opportunity to learn about eml

jennifer_nowak Family members actually enjoy doing it with their loved ones it encourages conversation

Kristin What we find is that it's a great way for caregivers to work with their loved ones that's fun for both. And if the person is truly early stage, they can usually do it for themselves. We encourage independence and that's just what they want. The homework is not for the caregiversw

Kristin our members use dictionaries, neighbors, the newspaper, many different things to do the homework, It's one of their favorite things - again not for the caregivers but for them

eyuen It's a great way for them to connect, yes?

Victor What is the difference between a caregiver and a carepartner?

Patty still checking on last name for comm.classes

Kristin Absolutenly. We have one lady whose grandson phones her every Thursday evening to go over the homework. They have a little competition going to see who can get the most and it's a great thing for both of them

Janelle the members do not view it as stressful, they really enjoy it and the family members say that they look forward to having something to do during the week.

Patty please give us an example of homework

Kristin Right - again these are people who are truly in the early stages of memory loss. They are independent and can do for themselves

Janelle However, it is never forced.

Kristin A-Z list using whatever - flowers, candy bars, vacaation places, famous people

carmen not like in grade school! What is an example of this kind of homework it sounds 'er fun!

Kristin Some of the many trivia quizes found online or at

Kristin What we find is that members bring in homework now for others to do. We have such a great sense of community and it's so neat when this happens

jennifer_nowak We usually send home some type of trivia that can be used for a discussion group at next visit

Kristin Absolutely not like in grade school. These are adults and they like adult activities

Janelle Also, the homework usually relates to something learned in class they can 'practice' during the week.

Kristin Reviwing the homework the next week is always time for great conversations

julia Love the idea of the A-Z lists !

Kristin Homework may center around the theme that you talked about during the session. If you talked about favorite pets, give a trivia quiz on famous pets. Find one from the web or make one up.

Kristin A-Z listsare great. Also, simply naming as many of something as you can think of - childhood games, colors, superstitions, etc. etc. etcc.

Janelle Also we related the homework and the class topics to the seasons, holiays etc..

carmen A great chance to monkey around

Kristin !!!

eyuen I think homework provides a continuity to the programming, if that makes sense.

Kristin Remember to find trivia from their time period - they like 40's 50'3, 60's probably more than the 80's and 90's

Janelle It helps to 'sell' the homework from the onset of the program. Group members want to know why they are doing what they are doing.

Kristin Again they are our best teachers. They let us know what they like and what they don't and then we adapt our programs accordingly

Victor 'Who played Palladin on the radio? Things like that I guess

Kristin Right. In the first program I started, we added homework after a few months and it was much more difficult to 'sell' it

jennifer_nowak we run our group 2 times per week - Homework provides an opportunity for members to continue to work on projects out of class

Kristin Radio is a great topic. You could get an old radio show and play it for a few minutes and then discuss

eyuen exactly...

Kristin Right Jen. Our programs are important but what we teach needs to be carried out, to be shared, to be discussed to be best learned

Victor Sirius Radio sells their Classic Radio collection. There are also a lot of collections out there on tape.

carmen Victor, tryin to be teachers pet

Kristin Teacher's pet - another great topic. Who has been one? Who was always in trouble? What happened if you got into trouble?

Victor Carmen is having too much fun

Kristin It's a fun toppic. It's absolutely my passion and one which I thoroughly enjoy. And the feedback is great

Victor Speaking of Sirius (the same may be true for XM) they play old radio shows everyday

eyuen I love how Carmen's incorporating other senses into this chat format

eyuen just what we were talking about

carmen ::rolleyes

Kristin Me too

Victor The Shadow, Life of Riley, etc

Janelle Yes the senses are great, especially now that Spring has arrived! A great time to go outside and experience all of them.

Victor When she starts on the odors I'm leaving

Kristin Quotes are another great topic. Have them guess., What would their quote be???

carmen We have had a lively session and time just flew. Any last words, sounds or smells?

Janelle Travel is a favorite also. Bring out the maps, etc...

Kristin Have fun - then they will, too. Humor is all important

julia Would imagine anything having to do with "school daze" would be fun!

jennifer_nowak Thanks Kristen for all the great ideas

Victor Thank you Kristin

Patty I'm sorry but I don't feel I got anything our of this chat, we hae been doin all of this for years. i was hoping for newer updated

Kristin Youjr'e welcome!!!

eyuen humor, a good last note.... Thank you so much , Kristin!

Carolyn_Klaver left.

Kristin Sorry Patty

Janelle This is a great way to share information. I enjoyed it!

julia Thanks for the info!

eyuen absolutely, like Kristin, we are each other's teachers

Kristin I look forward to seeing you all in Denver in November

pamjela_dodge Thanks, we enjoyed it. Let us know when you have another chat.

eyuen like Kristin says that is

Nora for someone who doesn't know much about eml, i did learn from this chat. thanks Kristen.

JoAnn Thanks for the info. do you do this often?

Patty I'll try to get the last name of the lady that teaches at the college. If anyone is interrested my e-mail is pmathews@ and respond with the information when I receive it. Thansk

Melinda Thanks so much Kristen!

Laurie Thanks everyone This has been my first online chat It's been good to "hear" all the ideas and info

Rolanda Thanks. This is a new topic for me and this was so informative.

Nancy This has been interesting. Thank you!

carmen How can we reach you kristin?

Maria_M. This was soo great

Kristin keinberger@

mary I was great and very informative::biggrin

carmen We'll let everyone know when another chat is scheduled thatk you all for your presence!

jennifer_nowak I think a seminar/training specific for eml is needed!

Patty left.

Kristin ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!

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