Technology isn’t just for the young, so why not have some fun with an iPad? Even those in the moderate stages of the disease can enjoy playing intuitive games like air hockey, marbles, or even Angry Birds using the iPad’s touch screen. Many of these games are free or low cost, so there’s little to lose if they don’t enjoy them (that’s assuming you don’t go out and buy and iPad just for the person with dementia. I wouldn’t recommend doing that).
Other two-person games are also fun to play on the iPad with the person with dementia, such as tic tac toe. Finally, even those in the later stages of the disease might like “painting” on the iPad screen or “coloring” pictures. The best part-no mess to clean up! For those in the moderate to late stages, you may find that simple games geared for younger users (but that aren’t offensively childish) might work best. If all else fails, you can always use the iPad to watch the fish swim in a soothing aquarium or download Crazy Face, an app in which the cartoon monster on the screen moves his mouth and eyebrows by listening the user speak.
The iPad is great for using in waiting rooms, so you don’t have to bring a lot of stuff to get a lot of entertainment options. This feature is perfect for those with finicky tastes or a short attention span; f they don’t like or get bored with the first game, just try another!
The risk, of course, is that an iPad is a pretty novel device, so there are fewer long-term memories that can help guide a new user with dementia on what to do. Therefore, you might find that you have to explain what to do every time, or even multiple times within the same sitting. Still, if you still with more familiar games, you will only have to remind them how to use the machine, not how to play the game.
Other Fun Games to Try:
Brushes (another painting app)
Dodge Dots (a weirdly fun matching/movement game. Trust me)
Smack it (whack a mole)
Mouse Orchestra (play music by pushing on the mice)
Of course there are TONS of others. Anyone have any favorites they’d like to share?
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Apps for Memory Loss | OT's with Apps said
[…] provides additional suggestions of apps suited to individuals with memory loss or dementia in the Play a Simple iPad Game (this is the first of two posts) which provides app suggestions for classic games such as Tic Tac […]
Anonymous said
Free jigsaw puzzle app with many free puzzles you can download or use any digital photo to make your own. You can change many settings to make puzzles as easy or hard as you want.