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Reddit mentions of Special Needs Sensory Activity Apron (Adult Size)
Sentiment score: 1
Reddit mentions: 1
We found 1 Reddit mentions of Special Needs Sensory Activity Apron (Adult Size). Here are the top ones.
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Child & Adult Sizes are different prices. Click on "New" to view sizes & prices.Helps in improving dressing skills (Zipper and Buttons). Multiple textures and surfaces for tactile stimulation.Multiple hand activities for improved finger dexterity and improved eye-hand coordinationVariety of activities reduces boredom and attention span,Excellent for Alzheimer's Patients.
Specs:
| Color | Light Blue, Green Trim |
| Height | 1.5 Inches |
| Length | 11 Inches |
| Size | Adult |
| Weight | 0.5 Pounds |
| Width | 7 Inches |
If they can afford it and you have one in your area, I would recommend the family take the dementia patient to an adult daycare every now and again, or even everyday. It gives the family some time to breathe and do what they want. And it gets the patient out and about.
Don't know if the family needs some sort of distractions or not? Female dementia patients often respond favorably to baby dolls. Actual dolls. Like the ones small girls play with. NOT a Barbie, but a bigger doll. Like this:
http://www.amazon.com/JC-Toys-16-inch-Washable-Purple/dp/B00CE2PTC6/ref=sr_1_9?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1464743750&sr=1-9&keywords=baby+doll
You don't need to get all the accessories (bottles, clothes, etc.). I have seen many female dementia patients who will sit and hold a doll for hours on end. Either their vision or that part of their brain doesn't allow them to see the doll as a doll but makes them think it's a real child and so they'll sit there all day with one, and talk to it and burp it and such. I've not seen a man with a doll, so I don't know if it would work or not.
The other thing that works for dementia patients is a "fidget blanket." This is sometimes called different things, like an activity blanket or activity apron, here's a link to one: http://www.amazon.com/Special-Needs-Sensory-Activity-Apron/dp/B004PMNZ7E/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1464744012&sr=1-1&keywords=fidget+blanket
but it is basically a blanket with zippers and buttons and velcro and various things for them to do with their hands. I've seen some that mount on the wall and have mechanical type stuff like a vise and a lock and other things, but then you have to get the patient up and over to the wall and I just don't see that being practical.
Oh, and something that works for patients of both genders: picture books. Especially if the patient used to love to read. Get them a big stack of picture books (kids books are great for this), or if you can find a big thick catalog, that also works (they won't know the difference and no biggie if a page gets torn).
All of these ideas are for patients in the more advanced stages of dementia. Your mileage may vary. I wouldn't pull any of these out of my hat for someone who was just recently diagnosed with dementia. I had a colleague who used coloring books and crayons with her patients but I never could quite pull that one off. Other people have also had success with giving them a basket full of towels or socks or something innocuous like that and having them fold laundry all day. (They'll never finish because they're likely to undo what they just did).
The big thing for families is letting them know that strange behaviors are perfectly normal and getting them some help so they don't have to do everything themselves because then they just get burned out fast.
Make sure the patient doesn't have access to the car keys, if they're still mobile. Find out if they're a wandering risk. I had a patient once who was a major escape risk.... literally if you turned your back, he would be out the door, over a 6 foot privacy fence, and running down the major highway that was a block away. The easiest way to fix this is to move the doorknobs and locks either up or down on the door. Let me explain: a person with a "normal" or still fully functioning brain knows where the doorknob is and how to operate it. Now take someone with dementia and move the doorknob up to, say, chest height or up even higher (just not at eye level). The patient will go to open the door and not be able to find the doorknob and they will be stumped. It will distract their brain from their usual thinking of "I've got to get out of here" to "where is the doorknob" and many advanced stage dementia patients won't think to look up (or down), and even if they do find it, they won't remember why they were looking for the doorknob in the first place, and hopefully wander off and find something else to get into.
Someone has told me that it's like having a 3 year old again, and it really is. You just have to find something to entertain them. Experiment!! It helps to know what they did for a living.... if they were a homemaker, the baby doll and folding laundry is likely to work. If they were a sports fan, put on ESPN (had one old lady that loved to watch ESPN all day everyday).