Building with blocks can be a very fun activity, to the right person. People in the more moderate to severe stages of the disease, who aren’t concerned about an activity seeming “childish” anymore are obvious candidates. So are people who had a lifelong interest in building things or working with their hands. If there are young children in the person’s life, having them play with the person with memory loss might make introducing this activity more “acceptable” to someone who’s hesitant to participate at first.
There are lots of types of blocks to choose from, anything from the simple wooden blocks at the beginning of this post, to classic Lincoln Logs:
You can find fancy architectural sets, such as the Taj Mahhal, the Colosseum, or the Parthenon, pictured below (warning, these sets are better for those in the earlier stages of the disease or strong visual-spatial skills):
Or, they even make wooden blocks with magnetic cores (as seen below), to help them stick together. These are a great option for people who might have tremors are therefore more likely to knock the structure down, or have more significant dementia and therefore might build an unsteadier structure.
On a final note, no matter what type of blocks you use, make sure the focus stays on the fun of the process, not the end product.
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