Activities for high functioning dementia

My husband has vascular dementia and is in assistive living. He too is high-functioning, but began to wander and was very uncooperative with me as to meds and diet for a long list of health issues that require close management.
Our grand-daughter upgraded to a new I-pad. My son “wiped” the old one, downloaded a short selection of basic solitaire and apps recommended for people with dementia (we tried out several to see what might interest him). I used white medical tape to mark “#1 push here” (to turn on) and “#2 press here” (to open the screen). I marked his name with the tape on the back of the I-pad and the charger too.
Does your mom like to read? The library in our town mails out books in a special bag and you mail them back (no postage cost), the librarians are great about selecting ones in your areas of interest.
Does she or you belong to a church? At another resident’s suggestion, I called the church office and got him on the list of “Friendly Visitors”. A lovely lady visits him weekly- she is a beekeeper and they talk a lot about that.
I buy Word Search books for people with dementia on Amazon, there is a pretty big selection, he likes Suduko books too.
Hope this helps, it’s hard.

Greetings Andy1937, My husband's dementia profile sounds very similar to your wife's. He really enjoys working on 500 piece puzzles and will spend considerable time on and off during the day working on them. He does best with puzzles with a lot of definition in the picture - brands he likes Pomegranate and Ravensburger. Worth a try.

Hi @andy1937, I wrote this before I saw the comment above. Sorry, @jbur
Does your mother in law like jigsaw puzzles? They can be engrossing. They vary in complexity - anywhere from 16 - 500 pieces. Maybe pick a scene that will engage her, based on her likes - landscape, fine art, animals, or quirky/bizarre. As noted above, puzzles with a variety of colors and high definition are best. Amazon has a good selection. There may already be some puzzles in a game room at the facility.
My husband has Alzheimer's. I can coax him into a non competitive Scrabble game once in a while with open book use of a Scrabble dictionary and my helping him. They also have Scrabble in large print size. He still loves to win.
There are also coloring books for adults, which may interest her, or maybe a blank pad for drawing, if she's so inclined. A notebook for jotting her thoughts?
As @centre pointed out, can you arrange for vists from friends, family members or volunteers?
Can she go to exercise classes or walk with an attendant at the facility? Do they have activities there she can join in? Are there other highly functioning residents she can associate with?
Wishing you the best!

@andy1937 spreading of puzzles, here is a suggestion from a member last year
https://www.portraitpuzzles.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E1RoXk1PGjab3f7UmkFQgIjkCUjhKRumtQHVgZWdtlAGzRVXOld_1caAg60EALw_wcB
Try this out! I think you’ll like it!

You folks are such a blessing - I mean that.... I've been praying that He guide me to answers because I have so many questions and now I'm here.
This topic is perfect and I hadn't even asked yet.
I'm going to try some of what you all have suggested, but I have a few to add. My husband gets a lot of enjoyment from wildlife. He loves to watch the birds and is still taking care of the bird seed block feeders and the hummingbird feeders. Since we have a bear issue here, the bird seed block feeders have to be brought in each evening and put back out in the mornings. We have one brazen bear who doesn't mind showing himself in the daytime and has taken down the block feeder. For the most part though, just bringing them in at night works. Then is feeding the deer, racoon and whatever else. I'm justifying the cost of what all is involved as an entertainment fee. After all, my husband barely leaves the property any longer. We don't go out to eat, go to church or socialize at all, haven't in a long time...so why not invest that money in something we both can enjoy and gives him reason to move some.
Another great addition is gardening. We have pots, bags and some things in ground that he enjoys tending. Great for getting exercise and some Vitamin D.
One more thing. Several years ago the clothes dryer malfunctioned for a brief period. We started hanging clothes out, lo and behold he loves to help with hanging laundry outside. Again, he's moving some and getting Vitamin D.
I'm off to look for some puzzles that we used to carry in the motor home ~ still have a couple brand new ones!

@anotherday I love your post! You sound so positive. I’ll have to remember the bird feeders but not the bear!

My husband also tends to the bird feeders each day, a great source of enjoyment for him. He also likes to use the cordless blower to clear off the driveway and patio area almost every day. It helps him feel that he is contributing to our household, he is, and it gives me a chance to appreciate his efforts and thank him.

My step-mother is in MC, I bought her adult coloring books and artist pencils, she likes to draw and color.

@dollyme What a great idea! There are some great coloring books out there!

Good ideas, am going to try a take off of the coloring books. Hubby used to do some architectural type drawing and he really enjoyed it. He designed our current garage, others have copied his design for their own builds. I may bring the drafting table up from the lower level and get him to design something. Maybe plans for a garage for somebody. Or?????