Therapies
These approaches can help jog up thinking skills and memory and, at the very least, lighten up their day. It can also prevent patients from feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.
Reminiscence Therapy
This includes activities like talking with your loved ones about their work-life, hometown, hobbies, or favorite activity they like to take part in. This can be as part of an organized therapy, one-on-one, or in groups. The person coordinating the session can use songs and pictures treasured by patients in the past as these could help in the retention of memories.
Reality orientation training
This goes beyond basic information like the person’s name, date of birth with a date. They may include or have signed with such information around their home. However, some find this quite uncomfortable and a little over the top. It can be dropped if it is not working for the patient.
Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST)
This is a designed program for groups of people with mild to moderate dementia. The group engages in mental activities like singing, playing board games, cooking from a recipe, talking about current events, etc.