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Reading With Seniors

There eventually comes a moment when we feel like a person with a loss of autonomy doesn’t feel like doing anything anymore. We keep suggesting activities and nothing seems to interest them. We will discuss in another article why that may be. But one thing is for sure, if there’s an activity that definitely works, it’s reading. If reading alone can be challenging and boring, reading in pairs is much more interesting. It is crucial that both the person reading and the person listening have their own book. A person with a loss of autonomy can easily lose interest in an activity, but when we make it an event, it is another story. We suggest a collection of reading activities for seniors with dementia. They’re simple stories about popular subjects such as hockey, Ireland, life on the farm, 1950s television and much more. Every person takes turns reading one page at a time while the others follow in their own books. There are fun and easy questions to answer and songs to sing, which encourages discussion. You think that your loved one can’t read anymore? You are probably mistaken. Reading is part of procedural memory (memory for skills and habits) so even with dementia, one can still read for a long time. It is important not to assume anything about our loved ones’ capacities. They just might surprise us!