For many men, being handy around the house or at work was/is a large part of their identity, even after Alzheimer’s has made fixing things much more difficult if not impossible. If you know someone like that, why not give them a broken item that you don’t care much about and let them work on it. This gives many men a feeling of purpose and accomplishment while distracting them from trying to fix things that aren’t broken! Garage sales and thrift stores are a great place to find things for this type of activity. You can take it apart yourself, or buy something pre-broken. Get a few different items and you can rotate them so the project is always fresh.
This activity is also a great way to reminisce about the individual’s past fixes (or spectacular failures). You can also take a “lesson” and have the individual teach you how to work with tools.
Things to think about:
- Make sure that whatever you get, and the tools needed to work on it, are safe for your loved one given the stage of their cognitive impairment.
- It might be a good idea to keep a separate set of tools for this purpose as well, that way if the screwdriver gets lost, you’ll still have another handy for use around the house.
- Be sure to stop the activity if it becomes too frustrating.
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