I understand your frustration. It is VERY difficult to find activities. I do ALOT of musical stuff with them. They love to sing and listen to songs that were popular when they were teens and young adults. We have one lady that is pretty nonresponsive to anything. She just has this blank stare and shuffles around.
She likes for us to do her nails, and give her hand massages. She also likes it when i bring my pet bunny up LOL. He'll sit in her lap and she'll hold him. She doens't pet him, but when you try to give him to another resident she gets upset that you took him from her. I found a book at the library called. "Alzheimers Activities that Stimulate the Mind". by Emilia C. Bazan-Salazar. There are alot of neat activities in this. I'm going to try and get my boss to buy this book if its available.
I'm going to a workshop on Nov the first called "Unlocking the Mysteries: Whats worth knowing in Alzheimers Disease" The speaker is Joanne Koenig Coste. She is the author of a book "Learning to Speak Alzheimers." I'm hoping to learn alot at this workshop.
I've only been doing this for a 16 months. Before this i was a special education teacher. One thing i've learned, is you take it one day at a time. and you rejoice in the little things. Maybe you saw them smile, or they reached out and touched your hand, or maybe its nothing more than that "light" that you know for just a moment they understood what you were saying or doing.
I have the utmost respect for those of you who are dealing with this. Its so hard. I can honestly say that working with the alzheimers residents has been a life changing experience.
Take care and i hope you guys have a great day!!!!
vicky