It’s All Fun & Games

Find out how to make your relatives that are diagnosed with Dementia better enjoy their day. With games for the mind, people living with Dementia have the chance to play with their relatives or friends. Games for the mind are proven to be very effective and they also improve our memory.

Today we will talk about Games and their positive effects on people with Dementia. As previous studies show, games up lift people with Dementia, and brain training games can also improve the memory of people who are over 60 years old. It helps them to get on better with their daily activities. These games challenge people on reasoning and problem solving. Another study in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia. Suggests that playing the game “Bingo”, provides mental stimulation that is highly therapeutic for people with cognitive disorders.

Picture from minddesigngames.com

Sadly, a lot of people with Dementia are left alone and bored, sitting in front of the TV. That action of course does not challenge their brain in anyway nor make them happy. Playing games with our loved ones, is one of the best things you can do, it will not only keep them busy and make them happy, but also stimulate their brain. “Although there is no cure, there is care.”

One of the most suitable games for people living with Dementia is the game “Bingo”, in fact people of all ages can play and enjoy that game and the rules of the game are very easy to understand. That game requires from the person to distinguish and match colors and shapes. “Bingo” is a very diverse game, and there are different versions of that Game, the players can identify anything from animals to items of food, to body parts. That game can be played by people living with Dementia with different stages of the disease, and it stimulates memories, thought process, or other cognitive abilities.

People playing Bingo

There are a variety of different games that can be of help to people with Dementia, such as “Snakes and ladders”, “Dominoes”, “call to mind”, “Concentration Card Game” (from the minddesigngames.com website) which are fun and easy to play. In addition to the memory improvements for elderly people who do not have Dementia or people who are in early stage Dementia, these games can also serve as a nice tool to spend time with your relatives and make them happy while visiting them for the short term. Another very good game that similar to dominoes is called “Qwirkle”, People in the early and middle stages of Alzheimer’s could play the game.

Snakes And Ladders

Qwirkle Game

A very important thing to remember is that, there are different stages of Dementia, and people who are in their early stage of the disease are still able to communicate clearly. Despite that people who are diagnosed with Dementia may have difficulty to deal with complicated games; therefore we have to avoid complex games, to also avoid frustration and sadness among people with Dementia. They may feel bad if they realize that they can not understand the game.

While caring out research about games for people with Dementia, I came across this amazing website: minddesigngames.com Mind design Games offers very interesting and effective puzzles, that have been proven to be helpful for many people who tried them. They offer games for 5 critical aspects:

“Mind Design Games was designed by caregivers to offer continuous, frustration-free, successful exercises for five critical aspects of dementia.  The five aspects addressed by Mind Design Games are:”

1. Communication / Word Recognition  (Two Games)
2. Memory / Reminiscent Therapy  (Two Games)
3. Coordination / Motor Skills  (Two Games)
4. Visual and Audio Sensory Perception  (Two Games)
5. Critical Thinking / Problem Solving  (Two Games)

Mind Design Picture by Minddesigngames.com

We offer games of snakes and ladders and a cup of tea, enjoy the rest of your week! 🙂