During the holiday season, it is sometimes difficult to engage with senior loved ones who are dealing with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of memory loss. However, it’s been found that sharing family photos at a gathering can be beneficial in many ways. Photos can help seniors recall pleasant times in the past and remember people who were important to them during their lives.
Even if the person with Alzheimer’s or dementia cannot participate verbally, family photos can still give them pleasure. They can also serve as a means of distraction if the person is upset.
If you are sharing a family album, it’s helpful to look at images from important, joyful events — weddings, graduations, vacations. It’s important to proceed at a comfortable, leisurely pace, and to be sensitive if the senior appears disinterested or saddened in any way.
Here are a few tips to help you examine vintage photos and get family members of all ages to participate in the process:
- Ask open-ended questions: Who are these people? What kind of car is that? Do you know where this photo was taken?
- Discuss relationships: Were you the oldest child in the family? Did your aunt and uncle live nearby? Did this boy go to school with you?
- Have a conversation, but don’t feel the need to correct a senior’s recollections of dates, times, events. Just let the memories flow.
- Talk about your own experiences. Share stories about how you felt as a child, a student, a young parent — and how it might be similar to what the senior is remembering.
- Keep the process simple. Share a few photos at a time. Playing music from the same time period can also relax everyone. (There are great playlists available online or through streaming apps that showcase tunes from various decades.)
- Letters, greeting cards, vintage magazines and advertisements can also stimulate memories.
When families gather together at this time of year, there is often a tendency to try to make things “perfect.” Of course, life never really is, no matter what Instagram is telling us! And when interacting with someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia, the real goal is to maintain a connection and foster a sense of well-being. (Letting go of expectations is the first step in the process!)
The Comfort Keepers team wishes you and yours a happy, stress-free, and healthy holiday season. For information on our services, please call (847) 215-8550. We are always here to help.
