OT and Cognitive Therapy for Alz Dem

PalmReader

What types of things do you do in OT? My DH goes to OT and so far we have created an activity board to help him remember what he did during the day, and we are working on a Memory Book for him. What other things have you done? I want to make his iphone easier for him to use. Any other ideas that are helpful? Thanks!

Belle60

Can you share what your activity board and memory book are? I would be interested in doing something like that. Right now, my DH spends his days collecting items around the house and putting them into some baskets. At least when something is missing I know where to find it!

harshedbuzz

@PalmReader

With all due respect, you might want to rethink this goal.

If your DH has progressed to a degree that he is reliant on a graphic organizer to remind him of his daily activities, he's past being safe on a phone or having access to the internet. The elderly, as a group, are targeted by scammers via calls, texts, email and ads. A friend's retired school superintendent dad allowed a scammer to access his computer because of a scam pop-up and lost $40K in an instant. Another friend's mom succumbed to the "grandmom, I'm in jail and need bail" phone call that cost her $7000. My own dad lost $360K day-trading before he completely forgot how to use a computer.

Sometime caregivers overestimate their LO's executive function and reasoning skills and believe that their PWD needs a cell in an emergency. During the middle stages, mom asked me to stay with dad during the install of a new HVAC system— she didn't want dad answering questions that might arise. They were upstairs and called over the balcony to warn us that they needed to solder a pipe which would set off the smoke detector. A couple minutes later, the detectors went off. Dad and I continued our conversation for about 20 seconds when he asked me what the terrible noise was. When I said "the smoke detector" he sat with that information for a good 30 seconds before standing up and toddling down the hall to get my mother to tell her the house was on fire. He didn't remember she was out or that this was from the soldering. He didn't attempt to cal 911 nor did he ask me to. Dad did need a phone for emergencies, he needed another person.

HB

PalmReader

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/273625#Comment_273625

So sorry to hear about that. Thanks for the info.

PalmReader

@Belle60

The Activity Board is a magnetic white board. We have pictures that he can choose from of things he did that day, like a lawnmower, gardening, weedwhacker, him holding our grandson, a stereo for when he listens to music, restaurants for when we go out to lunch, etc. He chooses the pictures as the day goes on. When we sit down to dinner at night, he can look at the pictures to see what he did that day and use it as a springboard for discussion.

The Memory Book is info all about him, some is written, but there are a lot of pictures too, of family and friends. He loves to look at the pictures of our travels. It is nice to talk about the pictures with him. We have lots of photo albums too, but the Memory Book is just for him.

Victoriaredux

The Memory book is nice but the chores -lawnmower, weedwacker, scare me— dementia can also impact vision—that's why dings on cars can be an early warning that driving isn't safe anymore. So anything sharp can be dangerous - and they may forget that the blades are still moving and sharp. If something isn't working right they can stick their fingers in …. Memory and judgement get impaired.

It's a hard thing for the family to accept but sometimes it's calmer to accept what they can do and not try to measure skills that are, sadly fading . The disease is progressive.

At a certain point neither OT or PT worked for one of my LOs. The multiple steps , the memory needed all became too much. They couldn't understand that they could improve or why it would matter.

I read about the missing car key causing stress in an earlier post of yours, if that is still an active issue , maybe get dummy keys from the dealer that look right for your car and his now sold car [ good for you!] . That way if he tries to use your car the key he still has won't work- yet they'll look right to him.

jfkoc

I do not recall much discussion re OT.

I would not ever have asked my husband to remember things. I don't think remembering increases memory. I think it would lead to frustration. I googled and found nothing that was written by anyone not promoting OT.

Please, no more lawn mowing or weed whacking. …things that could lead to harm. Maybe a tall planting box with some herbs/tomatoes or a bird feeder.

One "memory" thing I did with my husband was to look at old photos. He led the discussion. What he remembered went on the back of the photo.

As a caregiver I did a lot of listening and I know not all said was correct but still going down the rabbit hole with him meant a lot.

I am curious, who suggested the OT?

Chance Rider

@jfkoc I’m so glad you posted this tip:

One "memory" thing I did with my husband was to look at old photos. He led the discussion. What he remembered went on the back of the photo.

I’ve asked my stepson/DIL to take pictures of the “adventures” they’re having with my husband since his diagnosis so I can create a memory book. Writing his memories on the back of the pics is now on my radar. TY!

Jgirl57

These tasks are helpful in the very early stage , but I did not want my DH to have success with his phone . He was answering spam calls and ordering things we did not need. As his disease progressed he could not recall what he did that day and would get very frustrated with the “question/answer” game. If your DH is enjoying these tasks that’s good( except for mowing -it may be time to get help) and the books lead to pleasant discussion that’s nice. In the later stages OT can give you tips for bathing , turning a loved one in bed , meal time issues and good body mechanic issues. Stroke patients ( with no prior cognitive issues) often have success with memory /recall boards. Alz/dementia is a whole other world.

SDianeL

For my DH OT did not work. They stopped it after 2 visits. Same with PT. In Stage 5 he could no longer use a phone of any kind. He threw his memory book in the trash. The nurse retrieved it and placed in a glass display case outside his room. Things you are doing are unfortunately very temporary.