Helping People With Dementia

Though the number of people who have dementia is steadily on the rise, there are lots of ideas and treatments to help make life easier for the person living with dementia as well as the carers. Studies into dementia suggest that the creative part of the brain can remain undamaged for years and creative activities can garner very positive results for people with dementia.

The creative activities do not have to be complicated, they can be as simple as you require them to be. Dementia sufferers often find it difficult to express themselves through speech so listening to music, playing piano, taking photographs, painting are all tasks that can help them express themselves. A lot of health professionals and carers have seen a marked improvement in cognitive ability, physical strength and a lessening on their dependence for anti psychotics. These activities can also aid the carers as it can help to lessen the boredom and frustration of the sufferer, it can bring them closer together if do activities together and finding new ways to stimulate a sufferer can help a carer think more about their role and more effectively help the person they are caring for.

Dramatherapy has also been found to help treat dementia as it gives psychological and emotional support in a structured and consistent environment. The dementia sufferer may feel more comfortable expressing themselves in a session then they do in everyday life, as the dramatherapist is not a carer or nurse whom they see everyday. Dramatherapy is a great tool for helping a sufferers memory, and helping remember the past can aid in helping connecting memories from the past to the present. Sessions can be in a group or one on one and after a few the sufferer will hopefully feel empowered, more independent and be better at social interactions. These activities and sessions can help sufferers and carers cope with dementia and make the changes that will occur easier to bear in the long run.

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