At Home with Alzheimer's

In spite of living with a challenging illness, those with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias still enjoy the opportunity to participate in interesting, fun, and meaningful activities. Many people find it difficult to know the best kinds of activities for individuals with Alzheimer's or related dementias.  We are often caught between where the individual used to be and where they are now, in their journey. It is often not easy to know what to do or what to say to a friend or family member, because we are unsure of what their skills and capabilities are at this time.  Whether you are someone who suffers from memory impairment, or are caring for a family member, you will find that there are many activities that can boost the memory, while sharing in an enjoyable experience.

This section is dedicated to providing ideas for activities, which are geared for people living at home, who are in the early to mid stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Some can be done independently, or can be offered by family members or friends that visit with them. Our purpose is to offer a variety of activity experiences that can help to enhance the life of someone living with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias.


Activities that work the best are the ones that are simple and are:

•    Fun for the person with dementia AND the caregiver
•    Age appropriate – not childish activities
•    Familiar to the person- think about the person’s past interests
•    Focused on the person’s senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and feel)
•    Meaningful and purposeful
•    Ones that can be broken down into small steps or are repetitive
•    Provide immediate positive feedback
•    Enjoyable


It is the experience of the activity that is important, not the end result. The core of the individual is always there, and deserves our love, respect and patience more than ever. Remember to take one day at a time.

By providing these activity ideas, we hope that we have assisted you in gaining knowledge that would enhance the life of someone living with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. Click on the months below for activity sheets you can download and print out.

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December