Fidget and Anxiety Reducing Toys

upstateAnn

My sweet DH is a firm stage six with all the symptoms that go with AZ progression. A friend suggested buying some “toys” designed to help people with AZ reduce anxiety. Has anyone used these to calm thei LO? I saw some sites, but would like feedback from those who have used these, with the DL.

Chance Rider

My only experience was with my father. He had dementia but never diagnosed specifically with ALZ. When he was hospitalized we gave him some pvc fittings to fiddle with. He had been a plumbing contractor. Putting the fittings together in different configurations was enough to keep him occupied and less restless.

harshedbuzz

@upstateAnn

You may have materials for activities around the house now. If he's not hyperoral, sorting coins or nuts/screws presented as helping might be something to try. Folding hand towels or mating socks is another option.

HB

trottingalong

MY DH was a hardwood flooring contractor from the old days of nail down floors with beautiful borders. A true craftsman, passed down from his dad. He could make anything from wood, metal to you name it. Now his hands are idol. He can’t remember how to do much of anything and everything confuses him. Now you could sit down and have a conversation with him and not realize all that is going on. For him a gadget would bring frustration. Each person has there differences in this journey. Doesn’t hurt to try something, you may be pleasantly surprised. Good luck.

Kat63

My DH is also stage 6 and needed things to occupy his time. I was a little skeptical if anything would work but thought it was worth a try. I bought a dozen bright colored towels from Amazon and put them in baskets I have just inside our entryway. At first he remarked as “what are these?” But after a couple of weeks he started folding and refolding them everyday. It takes up at least a good hour every afternoon. He is very particular about how he folds them. It worked so I recently bought a stuffed dog that has fidget items. He pets the dog, talks to it and is just starting to mess with the Velcro, etc on the dog. It’s so sweet how he talks to the dog and the big smile he has while doing so. So both things have worked better than I expected.

upstateAnn

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/254206#Comment_254206

what is the dog product brand?

Kat63

The fidget dog brand is Chiaochutty, and I bought it at Amazon also. If you search fidget dog for dementia you should find it.

RetiredTeacher

I am also interested in the fidget dog info.

tigersmom

When my DH was in the hospital, somebody put a dog-shaped fidget DELETED from Odoxia in his bed. You could put both hands inside him, and there were attached toys to play with. I thought he was cute, but my husband pretty much ignored him. Same thing with the squeeze balls they brought in. YMMV. Maybe if it had been a cat…

Kat63

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/254226#Comment_254226

It took my husband about two weeks to start folding the towels and took a week or so before he paid attention to the dog. So time and patience has worked for us. I didn’t just give them to him and expect him to react. When he asked about the towels I told him I was keeping them in the baskets now. And when I got the dog, I just sat it by the baskets and never mentioned it, just gave it some time. In my case that is what has worked.

JJ401

I take DH (stage 4) to visit his sister (stage 6) in the nursing home about once a month. I try to find something small for him to bring to give her. This month he gave her a small orange teddy bear with a football print on its body. She loved it and fidgeted with it while we were there. She has a birthday next month and I've been trying to think of what he could get her. I think this will be perfect.

(I found it on Amazon by putting Chiaochutty in the search box and it came right up.)

howhale

We used fidgets and other "toys" for children or memory care patients for anxiety. They can help but you have to find the ones that your loved one will respond to. Amazon is a source for many, but there are other sources. In our case, I had to be alert to the ever changing condition in that some things worked better at different phases. By the end we had quite a collection but at different points they all were helpful. Often, she would use them on her own but many times it worked better to join her as a play activity between us or with her and the caregiver. For us it was truly trial and error but they did help us survive.

harshedbuzz

@upstateAnn

All this talk of dogs made me think of the Joy For All robotic pets. Many PWD find them very engaging. They had a cat and a dog at dad's facility which were used as needed and a few folks had their own. They don't feel very lifelike, but they're interactive and weirdly compelling.

A friend of mine borrowed one from her local library to see if her mom liked it before actually buying one.

https://joyforall.com/

HB

howhale

Many suggested the use of dolls, especially for women patients. There is a site that offers them targeted at dementia sufferers. Got one for my wife and it helped quite a lot at first. As her condition progressed, had to keep finding new ways to help her keep active. She would frequently return back to the doll which she treated as a little baby as if alive. Her association with it, as with most everything else I tried, would come and go so having an assortment available helped. Never knew quite where she would be day to day and what would interest her. Always chasing the answer.