Dementia means a growing number of limitations on life, and yet that doesn't mean giving up all cognitive ability, and although medications can't cure most types of dementia, which isn't a specific disease but a group of symptoms associated with declining mental function that interferes with your daily life and makes you dependent on care, they can help slow the decline in its early stages, however, and sedatives are often prescribed in moderate or severe cases. Meanwhile, small tasks can help those with dementia feel needed. This is how relatives can help.
But medications aren't the only means to help dementia sufferers manage their symptoms. Activation – physical, social and cognitive – is just as important, if not more so.
Activation can take many forms. It could be assuming minor household and garden chores or doing things that stimulate the senses, such as listening to music you used to enjoy or walking barefoot through the garden. Essentially it's about staying active.
"There's a positive effect on memory performance the more active a dementia sufferer is," says Laura Mey, a telephone adviser for the German Alzheimer Association (DAG). Being active helps them maintain their cognitive abilities longer, she explains, adding that they're often able to do more than their family members think.
"When people with dementia are well activated, they can continue to do a lot on their own," says Susette Schumann, president of the German Professional Society for Activating-Therapeutic Nursing (DGATP).
Activation involves more than "mere" leisure activities, but encompasses the entire day. Dementia sufferers can sweep the entrance hall or dust rooms, for instance. "Many still have the capability but may not come up with the idea themselves or remember where the cleaning utensils are," says Mey.
It's therefore important to give them clear instructions: "You can dust the windowsill in the living room – here's a rag." Similarly, you can hand them a basket of newly washed laundry and lead them to a clothes horse.
"People with dementia want to feel useful too. It's a good feeling and gives them a kind of serenity," says Mey.
So family members should consider how to include the dementia sufferer in daily activities. There are many possibilities, for example giving them recurring tasks.
"One task could be taking the mail out of the letter box," suggests Mey. Doing this daily establishes a routine, and routines are particularly important for people with dementia, as they provide structure, orientation and a sense of security.
Activation can also mean getting into conversations with the dementia sufferer. Family members can provide stimuli with pictures, smells or objects that ideally are attuned to the person's likings.
"If the person used to sew and had an interest in clothes and fashion, it could be a box filled with various fabrics, for example," says Mey. Together you could look at them, talk about them and feel them - it's good when the dementia sufferer can hold the things in their hands.
Whatever activity you choose, it should be short and simple. "People with dementia have a lot of trouble concentrating at some point," points out Schumann. "They can maintain it for about 10 minutes."
Activation of dementia sufferers isn't only by family members, but by nursing homes as well. If they move into a nursing home, family members can provide staff with biographical details that can be helpful in activating them.
Family members can also be present during activation therapy in a nursing home. "I often see family members join in," Shumann says. "If I were in charge of a home, I'd even invite them to."
Watching how professionals go about it can be of great assistance to a son or daughter who isn't quite sure how to deal with a parent with dementia.
