Entertainment for Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

That's Entertainment

Entertainment for people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia is not much different than entertainment for the rest of us. We work, we play, we take care of those pesky things like shopping and paying bills that are a part of every day living. Sometimes we just want to forget about all that and relax. So we look for entertainment, for something to take us away from this world and put us, for a while, in a fantasy. That might mean reading a book, going to a concert or just listening to a symphony recording, taking a hike, going for a swim or a bike ride, taking in a movie.... The list goes on and on.

The category list of entertainment for the person with Alzheimer's or dementia is very similar. It differs in the details. In the early stages a dementia patient will likely enjoy the same forms of entertainment that he always did. As his disease progresses, the list gets shorter and the items change, but the need for entertainment remains. Make sure that the activities that you provide are stage-appropriate as well as age-appropriate

Entertainment media provide us with one of our biggest sources of reminiscence therapy. Old movies and television shows, recordings of old radio programs, live performances and recordings of songs and music from the 30s and 40s; any of these could inspire a memory.

Movies and Documentaries

Feature movies are a first choice for many when it comes to distracting us from the routine of our daily life. Older movies are especially good as someone moves into the middle or later stages of dementia. Musicals, comedies, and movies that feature dancing can provide entertainment without the need to follow a complex plot.

The That's Entertainment series of movies highlighted in the right column compiles the songs and the dance numbers from some of the best movies of the past, leaving out the parts that might be confusing to a middle or later stage dementia patient. Go to our Amazon store to see other selections in Old Time Movies.

Nature documentaries are another option. Many rely heavily on the visual grandeur of their subject to tell the story. In our experience, people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia respond very well to these. One of our favorites is Winged Migration.It contains very little narration; the birds hold the audiences. You will enjoy watching this with your loved ones or the people in your care. It is as if you are flying with the birds.

Other Video Entertainment

There is a category of movie that is made to bring the world into your home. An undersea reef, the Amazon Jungle, majestic mountains, a Caribbean island; all can be enjoyed in the comfort of your living room. These can be thought of as music for the eyes, and provide a relaxing ambiance whenever they are playing. They are accompanied by relaxing or energizing music, natural sounds, or both, One good example of these environment enhancing videos is the Living Landscapes series by HD Environments. We recommend World's Most Beautiful Places because it highlights all nine of the disks in the series. But check out all of the titles. The person in your care might have fond memories of vacations in Hawaii, or he might have grown up near the Redwoods in California. He may have spent time exploring the deserts of South Western United States or he may have spent summers camping in the mountains.

Another series that we carry is called the "Ambient Collection," and it is just that. Beautiful natural scenery and original inspirational music provide hours of viewing and listening enyoyment. See our entire collection, or view selected video clips.

A reminder when ordering video: Order the video format that corresponds with your equipment. Blue Ray and High Definition DVD provide a much better picture, but they won't play on standard DVD players.

Old Radio

We've seen nostalgic pictures of families sitting around the radio listening intently. They may have been laughing to an episode of Jack Benny or Fibber McGee And Molly. They may be thrilling to the adventures of The Shadow or riding with The Lone Ranger. To you this may be a quaint image of Americana, but the majority of people who have Alzheimer's disease experienced this first hand. They grew up before television. Radio was for them what TV was for us.

So many of those classic radio shows are lost, but not all of them. Unfortunately, the quality of these recordings is not always what it could be. For people who likely don't hear as well as they did when the shows were first broadcast, listening to these less than perfect restorations might be more frustrating than anything. We are not recommending anything specific in this genre for that reason. This is not to say we are not looking for quality restorations of these old programs. If you know of any, please pass it along. And don't be afraid to try if you find something. The right recording for the right person might be hypnotic.

Books

Novels, biographies, and all the other books that we read for our entertainment will eventually loose their appeal to the person with dementia. There are other books, however, that will retain their appeal. The so-called coffee table books fit this bill nicely, especially those that have a nostalgic, geographic, or natural theme. These can usually be found on the sales tables of the larger bookstores, and appeal to many interests. We include a few in our Amazon Store.

Another option is illustrated stories. These don't have to be children's books. Stories written or adapted for juvenile readers can be as engrossing as adult novels, and the illustrations that they often contain make them visually stimulating as well. Swan Lake, featured here, is a marvelous example of this. It is the first book of a fairytale like trilogy, written by Mark Helprin, that I discovered when I was well into adulthood. I still recommend it to friends and anyone who I think has the gift of childlike-ness, the ability to find wonderment in simple and magical ideas.

Music

To paraphrase a line from a modern movie classic: The one constant through all the years has been music. The movie was Field of Dreams. The constant in the movie was baseball, but the quote works even better for music. It's something everyone has a deep connection to. Everyone has a favorite song, or several. Everyone has memories that are connected to one piece of music or another, some going back to childhood. More than that, music has the ability, like nothing else, to transport us to a different time or place, to brighten our mood, to relax or stimulate us. Many experts contend that music even has the power to heal.

But music isn't just for listening: Encourage participation. People in later stages of dementia often remember the lyrics of songs that they may not have heard for years. An Alzheimer's patient who has trouble putting a sentence together, who stumbles over words, might sing along with a familiar old song without hesitation or mistake. Not only is this enjoyable, it stimulates the memory. He doesn't like to sing? Maybe he plays piano or another musical instrument: Maybe not well, but that doesn't matter. Or hand him a tambourine or a pair of maracas, and let him keep the beat to recorded music. This can all be done in groups. In residential situations, bring in a leader who has a selection of rhythm and percussion instruments, and experience in encouraging participation.