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things to keep your spouse with early Alzheimer's busy
Can anyone share some ideas about what you do to keep your spouse with early Alzheimer's busy during the day. My husband is a golfer. He still golfs occasionally, but not nearly as much as he used to. Most days he is home here with me and just doesn't know what to do with himself. He constantly asks, "what are we doing today?" and expects me to entertain him. He runs errands with me, which he never did before and follows me around the house like a shadow. I have plenty to do around the house but he is not one who likes to help with housework. I still work part time and when I am gone all he does is watch tv. I feel guilty at work because I know he doesn't have anything to do, but I need to work to keep my sanity. When I read that I am supposed to give him towels to fold, or silverware to sort, that doesn't make sense at this stage. He is capable of doing lots of things but does not have the motivation to develop a new hobby. I have tried to get him to play games or do puzzles, but that is not his thing. Thanks for any suggestions, because I am out of ideas.
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Hi - since he will listen to music, do you think he would listen to podcasts? There are some that broadcast mysteries and crime but also many on the topic of philosophy (Philosophy for our Times, The Deeper Thinking Podcast, etc).
@roxyblu
Thank you for your suggestion, roxyblu, but I don't think podcasts would work.
Stephen doesn't like movies or documentaries or anything cerebral! He does like
watching some sporting events on TV. The World Cup matches have been a godsend.
After decades of teaching, lecturing, authoring, and publishing, he has shut down
any high level thinking. We go on very short walks when the weather permits.
The best thing I did this past year was get a bird feeder which is attached to the
outside window of our family room. He loves looking at all the bird visitors especially
the cardinals.
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2 ReactionsThank you for this section! My husband plays violin/piano but not using enough of his time to do so, given he's categorized as the younger <65 age group diagnosed with dementia, he forced himself to retire from his atty. job. He's not sporty nor reads outside of law books, and his attention span in initiating to completing has been shorter.
He does wait for me to schedule his activities that I've been grabbing social events/invitations or create friends' gatherings. I still work..somehow, it is a healthier distraction for me. I've enrolled him in culinary classes as he likes to make pizzas & pastries, roast beef but those skills had dwindled a bit however as long as he's with people to chat away, it's okay even if it won't culminate to a dish that's palatable enough to share:)