Alzheimer's Treasures And Traps

Even though I forgot to set out the treasures and traps today wasn't to bad. The first thing I came across was a coffee cup on the counter by the kitchen sink. A puddle of liquid around the cup and something orange colored in the cup. It did look drinkable but I knew we didn't have orange drink in the house. Orange juice but not drink. This one was easy it was liquid dish soap - yum.

She got into the a zip lock bag I had those small packages of condiments like ketchup and horseradish and soy sauce and duck sauce etc. I found the bag along the side of her recliner chair and one of her pockets full. Luckily she didn't start opening them. When she does the contents end up everywhere.

Just our luck. While I was writing this I was concentrating to much on this and not enough on my mother. She made the trek to the bathroom on the other side of the house and started to go before she had managed to sit all the way down and it splattered all over the back of the toilet seat, the toilet tank, the sink cabinet, the back wall, the side wall and the floor. Amazingly she wasn't a mess. So I'm just back from cleaning that mess up.

I just found some other things moved around in the kitchen but no big deal. I went to get tea bags out and she had moved everything around in there and put measuring cups in with the tea bags. With Alzheimer's a person will pick something up and instantly forget where they got it. It seems that instead of just putting it back on the counter there is a need to put it away. Even if it's the wrong place and it always is.

Things will be put in the most abstract places. In different rooms and in a place that has no similar items. Like taking measuring spoons from the kitchen and going into another room and putting them in the desk or in the back corner of a closet. Sometimes you don't find them during a search but come across them by accident days, weeks or even longer.

It can be completely normal when you get up or like this and of course there will be days you'll just want to run away screaming. Every body will need to deal with different things but as you learn the different patterns that some one with Alzheimer's has you can set little diversions that catch their attention. Leave things around that will spark an interest but they can't make a mess with or at least a mess that's easy to clean up.

It's easier to clean up little pieces of tissue paper than it is maple syrup. Things that a small child would find interesting sometimes work. You may have to design the trap to a specific tendency. I noticed my mother can't stand it if a tissue or a piece of toilet paper has a ripped edge. She will tear little pieces off over and over again trying to get a straight edge.

If I leave out a few torn tissues or a strip of toilet paper by her chair she will see them and start trying to fix the irregular edge. I may leave a pile of say 10 tissues on the arm of her chair and she will pick each one up and examine it and compare it to the others. She then often folds them up one at a time into little squares. She can get quite involved in it and seems to even enjoy it.

Let them explore and find these little treasures and traps so they won't get into the things you don't want them to get into. Once they find their little treasure they often sneak off with it to try and figure what it is and that can keep them busy for quite some time. Just remember to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't have something harmful.

This is a way I have found that keeps mom active and moving around instead of just sitting in her chair. All activity you can come up with is good. It's much easier to help some one that can move around. It's good for them and for you the caregiver.

I try to set up several of these in different places and try to offer some variety. If a person has Alzheimer's disease or has Alzheimer's like symptoms they don't seem to be creatures of habit. Each time they wake up they may go a different direction and anything they see that catches their eye or anything they hear may attract them.

That's why I leave the television on. No matter where she is in the house she can hear it. 99 percent of the time I can count on that to get her attention. She will search for the source of the sound. When she gets there she will see her favorite chair and on the table next to it a snack and a drink. I put other things there that have caught her interest in the past to keep her there and busy.

If I'm sleeping and wake up I walk through the house to see if my little Alzheimer's friend has been up and about. I check on her and then I go check the treasures and traps I have spread around the house before I go back to sleep. This can give up a good idea of the extent of the activity while your asleep. You will probably be surprised.