Needs for Activities

Cognitive stimulation, physical exercise, and social lives are essential for people with dementia to stay healthy and active. They will bring enjoyment, pleasure, connections, belonging, autonomy, and identity to the person. They can prevent or slow down the progress of cognitive decline. Conversely, the decline of cognitive functions may accelerate if we do not encourage people with dementia to utilize their abilities.

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Understanding the strength of the personExpand

People with dementia will be more interested in activities that can utilize their strengths. To make it simple, you can look for strengths in the following categories:

People who are strong in language are often more sensitive to words, speech and meanings. Most of them are interested in:

Crossword puzzles
Listening to and joining conversations
Reading the words on posters and banners
Reading newspapers and magazines

Recommended activities:

Naming things from picture cards
Crossword puzzles
Calligraphy
Speaking about the origins of proverbs
Composing new lyrics for old songs

People who are strong in physical activities like to move their body. They prefer experiencing through their body over listening to information. Most of them are interested in:

Walking, jogging, and cycling
Ball games
Handicrafts, such as sewing, knitting, and carpentry
Dancing

Recommended activities:

Old games, such as quoits, jacks, marbles, and hummers
Simple knitting, like making rattan works
Simple exercise, such as tai chi and stretching
Simple crafts, such as paper folding, cotton-ball crafts, and playdough

People who are strong in music and rhythm are often more sensitive to sounds. Most of them are interested in:

Singing
Playing musical instruments
Poetry
Listening to music and opera

Recommended activities:

Singing
Reading poems
Clapping beats (e.g. "You are my sun[clap]shine[clap], my only sun[clap]shine[clap]/ You make me hap[clap]py[clap] when skies are grey[clap]")
Matching beats with gestures (e.g. "You are my sunshine [a gesture], my only sunshine [another gesture]/ You make me happy [another gesture] when skies are grey [another gesture]")

People who are strong in logic and calculations are often better at strategy games that require calculations. Most of them are interested in:

Counting and calculations
Card games
Board and tile games
Arcade games
Photo hunts

Recommended activities:

Photo hunts
Simple calculations, like games that involve purchasing
Simple sorting, like organizing poker chips

People who are strong in communication are often more sociable and like to stay with other people or animals. They are more sensitive to the needs of others. Most of them are interested in:

Joining sharing groups
Chatting
Helping others
Spending time with children and animals

Recommended activities:

Creating stories
Reminiscing
Simple cooking
Taking care of dolls or cuddly toys
Sharing and discussions about news or soap operas

People who are good at self-reflection often need to stay alone. They usually have unique views on the world. Most of them are interested in:

Spending time alone
Doing their own things
Observing other people
Dressing themselves up

Recommended activities:

Jenga
Sorting beans
Decorating clothing and daily goods
Dressing up and applying makeup
Simple crafts, such as drawing, stringing beads, and glass art

People who love nature are more responsive to the sounds of nature, beautiful photos, and plants and animals. Most of them are interested in:

Animals and birds
Spending time in natural settings
Beautiful paintings and photos of nature
Flower arrangements
Pottery

Recommended activities:

Going to the park
Planting
Flower arrangement
Drawing
Photography
Paper clay
Decoupage art

Understanding the level of abilityExpand

Activities are meaningful to people with dementia when they are at an appropriate level for them. Meaningful activities will give enough satisfaction to provide motivation to continue. You may design activities with reference to the Pool Activity Level and further adjust the level of difficulties of the activity according to the ability of the person.

Planned activity level
Can work toward goal-directed activities and enjoy reaching a tangible outcome. Recommended activities Traditional board games Simple cooking Group discussions and quizzes
Exploratory activity level
Can carry out familiar activities in familiar surroundings. Enjoys the process of doing the activity more than the final outcome. Recommended activities Simple crafts, such as knitting, painting, and pottery Reminiscence Dance and movement with music
Sensory activity level
Primarily concerned with experiencing sensations and moving their body in response. Enjoys repetitive simple, small steps in activities. Recommended activities Simple ball games Planting Simple housework, such as folding, dusting, and sweeping
Reflex activity level
Often unaware of the surrounding environment and their own body. Able to provide reflex response to direct sensory stimulation, such as blinking and turning to the direction of sounds. Recommended activities Listening to music Massage and body touch Multisensory stimulation, such as tasting and touching different things

Reference: Pool, J. (2002). The Pool Activity Level (PAL) Instrument for Occupational Profiling: A practical resource for carers of people with cognitive impairment, (2nd ed.). London: Jessica Kingsley.

OverviewExpand

Planned activity level	Exploratory activity level	Sensory activity level	Reflex activity level
Naming things Crossword puzzles Speaking about the origins of proverbs Composing new lyrics	Calligraphy
Old games	Simple knitting Simple crafts Simple exercise	Simple ball games Simple housework	Multisensory stimulation
Singing Reading poems	Clapping beats Dance and movement with music	Clapping beats	Listening to music
Photo hunts Simple calculations Traditional board games	Simple sorting
Creating stories Simple cooking Group discussions and quizzes	Reminiscence	Taking care of dolls or cuddly toys	Massage and body touch
Jenga Dressing up and applying makeup	Sorting beans Decorating clothing and daily commodities Simple crafts
Flower arrangement Photography	Drawing Paper clay Decoupage art	Going to the park Planting

Needs for Activities

Key points

People who are strong in language are often more sensitive to words, speech and meanings. Most of them are interested in:

Recommended activities:

People who are strong in physical activities like to move their body. They prefer experiencing through their body over listening to information. Most of them are interested in:

Recommended activities:

People who are strong in music and rhythm are often more sensitive to sounds. Most of them are interested in:

Recommended activities:

People who are strong in logic and calculations are often better at strategy games that require calculations. Most of them are interested in:

Recommended activities:

People who are strong in communication are often more sociable and like to stay with other people or animals. They are more sensitive to the needs of others. Most of them are interested in:

Recommended activities:

People who are good at self-reflection often need to stay alone. They usually have unique views on the world. Most of them are interested in:

Recommended activities:

People who love nature are more responsive to the sounds of nature, beautiful photos, and plants and animals. Most of them are interested in:

Recommended activities:

Recommended activities

Recommended activities

Recommended activities

Recommended activities