My dad has Alzheimer’s and no longer wants to do jigsaw puzzles. He’s been doing 1000 pc puzzles 3 yrs, now 500 pc. Any ideas?
My dad lives at home with Mom. He says the puzzles are just too hard for him now. He enjoys reading and watching travel shows. What other individual activities at home do you recommend? Mom and dad prefer not to go out.
Are you asking us to guess why he CANNOT do them, or why he doesn't WISH to, or why he would like to is unable to?
My own guess is that he is unable to do the puzzles now.
Have you spoken with your Dad? I don't know what stage he is at but my brother was able to speak with me about his Lewy's, about his symptoms, and about "his world" for want of a better word. Try speaking with him about it.
A fellow resident at my brother's ALF cottage enjoyed dominos, not to play a real game, but the matching up. He was also drawn to the scrabble board and putting together simple words with the tiles. My brother loved those glossy big books of old cars and could sit and look at them by the hour. He was more early stage. Good luck finding something for your Dad.
Thank you for taking time to respond to my unclear question. It was my very first post. Dominoes sounds like a great idea. And you are right, I need to have conversations with him about his world.
As his disease progresses his loss of short-term memory will impact his ability to keep himself on task and therefore, entertained.
Maybe more physical busywork is now better: - pairing items (like nuts and bolts of various sizes -- lots of them so it keeps him busy and also burns his energy so he sleeps better at night) - folding "laundry" (this is a dedicated basket of items that will need to get unfolded by your Mom) - Duplo blocks: have him follow a simple pattern for him to build) - sorting and pairing colorful socks... poker chips, playing cards - cutting old towels and t-shirts into rags (you can go onto Nextdoor.com and request the old shirts for free... every on can use nice cotton rags!) - clipping coupons from newspapers and flyers (which can be given out to relatives and neighbors)
... you get the idea. I wish you all the best on this journey with him!
It may be too difficult for him to do them now . Perhaps there is something else he would like to do ? Does he like to listen to music ? You could make a playlist for him. Does he like to read ? My FIL with dementia is struggling with crossword puzzles , rarely does them anymore but he still reads . He also plays solitaire on his tablet but isn’t doing it as often . There are so many easy games you could try if he uses a tablet or IPad . Maybe others will have other suggestions .
When my mother had dementia , as it got worse, she was content sitting by the front door of her assisted living facility people watching , to see who came and went . Their world gets small and they don’t need much .
I used to watch a friend and helped her with puzzles when her DH needed some short trips. Take a 300 piece puzzle for one last try. Divide it in thirds and place pieces in baggies. Once the top 3rd was completed we would open up the next bag with the bottom then opened the middle bag
Good idea. But I got confused at first (oh, dear). So you have to finish the puzzle yourself before you divide it up, LOL. I took a moment to figure out how the baggies would help otherwise. ;)
It's not that your dad "no longer wants to do jigsaw puzzles," it's now because he can't figure out how to do them as his brain is broken. It's hard to witness the mental decline of our loved ones with this horrible disease this I know. Does your dad go to an Adult Daycare Center at all? They plan great activities for folks with dementia, and feed them breakfast, lunch and a snack. That's just a thought. Whatever you find now for your dad to do, it must be simple. Music is always a great go to. I wish you the best in figuring out how to keep your dad occupied.
It’s the progression of the disease. My husband went from 1000p to 500p to 100p to 50p to 25p to 20p to 0p in the span of 3 yrs. Now he is bedridden and dependent on others 24/7. Dementia is a disease that always wins at the end. It is horrible.
My mother always enjoyed word search books as a casual hobby. But after her hospital fiasco in 2021, she became a word search super star.. I'm baffled by her brain sometimes
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My own guess is that he is unable to do the puzzles now.
Have you spoken with your Dad? I don't know what stage he is at but my brother was able to speak with me about his Lewy's, about his symptoms, and about "his world" for want of a better word. Try speaking with him about it.
A fellow resident at my brother's ALF cottage enjoyed dominos, not to play a real game, but the matching up. He was also drawn to the scrabble board and putting together simple words with the tiles. My brother loved those glossy big books of old cars and could sit and look at them by the hour. He was more early stage. Good luck finding something for your Dad.
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Maybe more physical busywork is now better:
- pairing items (like nuts and bolts of various sizes -- lots of them so it keeps him busy and also burns his energy so he sleeps better at night)
- folding "laundry" (this is a dedicated basket of items that will need to get unfolded by your Mom)
- Duplo blocks: have him follow a simple pattern for him to build)
- sorting and pairing colorful socks... poker chips, playing cards
- cutting old towels and t-shirts into rags (you can go onto Nextdoor.com and request the old shirts for free... every on can use nice cotton rags!)
- clipping coupons from newspapers and flyers (which can be given out to relatives and neighbors)
... you get the idea. I wish you all the best on this journey with him!
When my mother had dementia , as it got worse, she was content sitting by the front door of her assisted living facility people watching , to see who came and went . Their world gets small and they don’t need much .
It's hard to witness the mental decline of our loved ones with this horrible disease this I know.
Does your dad go to an Adult Daycare Center at all? They plan great activities for folks with dementia, and feed them breakfast, lunch and a snack. That's just a thought.
Whatever you find now for your dad to do, it must be simple. Music is always a great go to.
I wish you the best in figuring out how to keep your dad occupied.
I am 76 I use to be an avid miniaturist, for like 30 years, my eyes are not what they were and my patience, well that has waned. I am over it.
Let him do what he wants, if it is nothing, then so be it.
Don't pin your expectations on him, he is old and tired and has more than enough to deal with.