- Have your activity and all materials ready to go, and keep at least two alternate plans on the back burner.
- Ensure that activities are age appropriate.
- Know the best time of day to engage the person or group.
- Keep directions clear and simple.
- Break activities down into small, achievable steps, and offer guidance when necessary.
- Provide a visual focal point for the activity; show examples.
- Clarify the activity's purpose.
- Keep the environment free from distractions.
- Offer choices.
- Take a multi-sensory approach, especially as sensory functions start to wane.
- Structured discussions can be extremely stimulating as long as the topics are concrete and familiar.
- Refocus attention and consider changing the activity when frustration runs high.
- Use verbal and non-verbal cues, and have direct eye contact.
- Be patient and flexible.
- Focus on enjoyment, not achievement.
- Provide bereavement care and counseling to surviving family and friends.
Taken from "Active and Engaged" by Tracy Chesna McCloud in the Spring/Summer 2009 Issue of care ADvantage magazine.
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