I'm looking for things besides the remote and tissue box. She's always trying to move things around and organize her TV tray table. She is able to do things like put on her socks, tie her pants' drawstrings, brush her hair, search through her address book with her glasses on, etc.
I feel like during the days she's sitting alone, she could have an activity or even just a random thing to keep her brain working. She's been really coherent despite some creative imagination. And, she seems tired of the TV all the time. I'm just not sure what to try and put in front of her!
I would also buy second hand scarves and put soft knots in them for him to straighten out. I learned this from nurses who use to give my husband extra long plastic tubes that were knotted for him to unravel.
Do you believe she can safely manage a Mandala coloring book and colored pencils? Or a puzzle? Could she thread beads that are too big to swallow. Would she enjoy large Legos? There are also mazes with a bead that can't get out and lost.
If you can afford it there are electronic pets, and Simpl, (yes it's spelled SIMPL)(prerecorded) radios.
We gave my 100-yr old Aunt with advanced dementia a large stack of kitchen towels to fold several times a day. That was the only purpose of the towels. I also gave her colored poker chips and she not only sorted them but sometimes made patterns with them.
As for the tv, she may not be tired of it but rather cannot comprehend what she is seeing or hearing. For my Aunt, we ran non-scary animated movies with the closed captions on and she would read the entire movie out loud. Not sure she understood what she was reading, but she did it consistently, over and over. We also got her animal books that were mostly pictures. She would read out loud to us while we prepped dinner. She also colored in coloring books.
They would all fit easily in a small plastic box.
Mom was also responsible for wiping down the kitchen counter after every meal.
Mom was also responsible for putting the silverware away in the right slot in the silverware drawer (from the dishwasher caddy.)
Mom also liked to pick up pine cones in the yard so she walked around the yard with a plastic bucket and put pine cones in there.
They like them and best of all, they always seem new to them every time., so it's never boring.
Can or would she color? Water color or crayons or colored pencils?
Would you have her fold towels, sort socks? (You could even buy a bunch of socks at a resale shop and have her sort them)
Large Legos for toddlers. She can stack them.
The Jenga game. Stacking blocks.
Large format jigsaw puzzles.
Take her for a walk (if it is safe for both of you to do so)
Get a bird feeder and she can watch birds and squirrels
And if there is an Adult Day Program near you that might be something to look into. Most will pick up participants in the morning, they get a breakfast, snack, lunch and activities and are brought back home in the late afternoon,.
Those little squishy kids toys from the toy store that look like a sea urchin or a fidget widget from kids toy store
jigsaw puzzles; my mom at the progression of her dementia could not necessarily find the pieces.. but she could organize them in a linear fashion by color. Try 500 piece or less
dominoes... match and make a long train or play mexican train with her
a small doll baby equipped with easy on clothing, diaper and a bassinet. My mother in law with moderate to severe dementia at a time enjoyed taking care of the baby
Dementia care offers friendships, outings, 24/7 monitoring and meds, sitting and watching TV with their buddies, eating all meals with their besties and laughter that results, entertainment (sometimes a dance where a karaoke guy brings his friends to get the ladies on their feet and dancing), many puzzles, giant legos, the staff's dogs, the staff's kids who bring them cards and play games and sing for them, and on and on.
Go check out some of these places. Mom would be so much better off and so would you.
What about:
First, consider finding volunteers to interact with her - from high school - or a local college with students majoring in nursing, geriatrics, education.
(1) that cube thing with the colors to 'line up.' Even if she doesn't line them up ... which is challenging, she might like the idea or get some benefit from moving them around (if she has the dexterity to do so).
(2) Both of you cutting pictures/photos out of magazines and then letting her design a collage ... you help with the tape or glueing the pieces on to a board / heavy poster board paper - ?
(3) Get paint strips from a paint store - with all the different colors, make a collage or something out of them?
(4) Look on-line (or if there are still toy stores), see what's available for kids... what about a (toy) xylophone to play?
(5) Get a bunch of different color paper clips and ask her to put in specific color groups.
So much depends on her abilities, i.e., would she fall out of bed picking up something on the floor? Could she do easy (?) cross-word puzzles or word games? Perhaps ... in the children's dept., games, to do with spelling. Could be a book or actual game.
Rarely do I feel STUMPED here to respond to a question. I certainly was with this one. Let us know what you do. I sense my best suggestion is to find volunteers as I believe interacting / socializing is the 'best' / healthiest way to support her to enjoy her time. You could even ask for a 'arts and crafts' person - perhaps post a notice at a (your) church bulletin board.
Gena / Touch Matters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_sbiUC5wE8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyCExsRi_1I&t=343s
Even though you say she tires of TV, you may want to check out Zinnia TV. I have found it very helpful. I had said I would never pay for TV services again because there is plenty of free TV but when I watched this video, I decided I had to subscribe and have found it very helpful. I randomly put it on for him especially when he is sun downing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=texUM9n9Ct0
There is a link in the comments below that video to get a discount when you subscribe, but there is also a free trial. I had heard of it several years ago but did not understand how it was supposed to help until I watched that video. I often feel relaxed just listening to the music and the tone of the voices while I am working on the computer as he is watching it.
You may find high school students studying cosmetology who could come to the house to give manicures and thereby accumulate service hours, which may be needed for graduation credits.
Look through old photo albums or create new ones.
When I accidentally double posted, I pressed the edit button on the duplicate post, and then used the "back" button on the post to erase all the words in it. The blank post still appears, but the duplicate writing is gone.
While sitting in her chair, your grandmother might enjoy:
Figet blankets or aprons with zippers, buttons, ribbons, and textures, towels to fold, sorting buttons or large beads by color or shape (non-swallowable). Matching socks or fabric squares from a small basket, stacking plastic cups or nesting containers, rolling yarn into balls, coloring books or water painting books (no mess)., looking through old photo albums and talking about them, listening to familiar music or hymns with headphones or a speaker, simple craft kits (foam stickers, collage making with magazines), a box of old costume jewelry to handle and look through, a memory box with safe, familiar items, like keys, hairbrush, coin purse, large piece puzzles with only 12 to 24 pieces, soft therapy putty or a stress ball to squeeze, fidget spinner or pop up toy, cards to shuffle or organize by suit/color.
These simple activities can offer your grandmother comfort, spark memories, and help her feel engaged and valued throughout the day.