Music, art, and pets can have a positive impact on you and your loved one. Music can be healing and calming. Music therapists that work with Alzheimer’s patients have found that songs that your loved one sang when they were younger can elicit happy memories from their past. Singing along to the music can involve others can be a wonderful activity. Soft background music can also be used with other activities such as looking at photos and scrapbooks.
Art allows your loved one to be expressive, as well as providing a project that is theirs that they can take pride in. It is important to make sure that the art projects are adult specific and not child-like (i.e. crayons and coloring book). Make sure to use non-toxic materials and stay away from the use of sharp objects. Dedicate a special place in your home for them to work on the project. As the care partner, you may want to do your own art project as a means of self-care and this can be a great opportunity for a calming activity that you can do together. Provide encouragement and compliment their project. Let them do as much as they want on the project and when they say it is finished, accept their decision.
Research has shown that pets can significantly reduce depression and boost self-esteem in the individual with Alzheimer’s. They may also have few anxious outbursts when there is a pet in the home. Pets can also enhance your loved one’s connection to their world. Even when the Alzheimer’s becomes advanced, your loved one can sometimes respond to the comforting presence of an animal when they are unable to respond to other things.
If your loved one has never been around animals, then it would not be advisable to bring a pet into the home. But if you have currently have pets, by no means do you need to remove them from the home.