Helpful Activities for Dementia Patients

Anyone here have any idea what are the helpful activities for Dementia patients? Let's share thoughts and tips.

This is an old post, but maybe someone will benefit from the suggestions:
I found these online, hope something helps.

Listen to music

Toss a ball
Color pictures
Make homemade lemonade
Count trading cards
Clip coupons
Sort poker chips
Read out loud chapters from Harry Potter books or other favorite stories
Rake leaves
String beads
Bake cookies
Take photos of the person and you and create a collage
Brush or comb one another’s hair
Participate in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer's.
Plant seeds indoors or outdoors
Look at family photographs
Wipe off the kitchen table
Weed the flowerbed or tend to the garden
Fold laundry
Have a friend visit with a well-behaved pet
Cut pictures out of greeting cards or magazines
Play dominoes
Ask the person about his or her favorite childhood books or cartoon characters (you can share yours too)
Bake homemade bread
Sort objects by shape or color
Sing old songs
Invite the person to tell you more when he or she talks about a memory
Put silverware away
Make a Valentine card
Play favorite songs and sing
Ask the person about his or her brothers or sisters
Make a cherry pie
Play with tops or jacks
Make a scrapbook
Take a walk around the yard
Write a poem together
Reminisce about the first day of school
String Cheerios® to hang outside for birds
Make a fresh fruit salad
Sweep the patio
Color paper shamrocks green
Fold towels
Have an afternoon tea party
Talk about great inventions
Look through the pages of a clothes catalog
Look at a map of the United States and identify states and capitals
Make a family tree poster
Color a picture of our flag
Eat a picnic lunch outside
Water house plants
Play horseshoes
Dance
Watch Sesame Street together
Make homemade ice cream
Make holiday cards
Reminisce about favorite sports activities the person enjoyed while growing up
Write a letter to a friend or family member
Dress in your favorite football or soccer team's color
Pop popcorn
Name the presidents
Give a manicure
Make paper butterflies
Plant a tree
Finish famous sayings
Feed the ducks
Model with play dough
Look at pictures in a comic book
Put a puzzle together
Sand wood
Rub in hand lotion
Arrange fresh flowers
Remember famous people
Recite nursery rhymes
Make peanut butter sandwiches
Cut up used paper for scratch paper
Blow bubbles
Take care of a fish tank
Bake cupcakes and decorate them
Interview the person about his or her life using either a video camera or cassette recorder
Play Hangman
Finger paint
Cut out pictures from magazine
Put coins in a jar
Put bird seed out for the birds
Decorate a pumpkin
Reminisce about a favorite summer
Roll yarn into a ball
Trace and cut out autumn leaves
Cook a favorite family recipe together
Gather a yellow sponge, crayons, paper and tape and make a SpongeBob SquarePants
Wash silverware
Give him or her a hug
Ask the person to show you how to knit or sew (or another favorite hobby)
Make a picture frame our of popsicle sticks and glitter
Play a musical instrument
Keep a journal together
Ask the person to talk about his or her favorite sports hero
Sort playing cards
Ask the person about his or her favorite pet
Wash windows togetherAsk the person about his or her first car

This seems to be a very useful thread.. My grandmother has dementia and now we are giving her speech therapy. Doctor said that speech therapy improves communication and slow down the progression of the disease. Also I happened to read many articles regarding the benefits of speech and language therapy in Alzheimer's patients ( http://www.c-care.ca/blog/alzheimer-pat ... -patients/ ). Hope this'll improve her health soon.