Virginia Bell – författare

Bring out the best in each person with dementia each day with more than 140 versatile, easy-to-implement Best Friends activities. Thousands of caregivers around the world know that providing Best Friends' care improves the quality of life of people with dementia by building on the essential elements of friendship; respect, empathy, support, trust, humor, and sharing time together. Using the Best Friends approach to activities, anyone on staff can turn any interaction with a resident or client into an activity that satisfies essential physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Each activity contains suggestions for personalizing the activity and matching it to the remaining strengths of the individual to ensure success and reduce challenging behaviors. The Best Friends Book of Alzheimer's Activities is chock full of inspiring and innovative ideas on how to: convert everyday activities into those with ""knack""; create new activities out of tried-and-true activities; provide activities between structured programs/events; increase self-esteem; adapt activities for people with late dementia; provide opportunities for connecting to others; create intergenerational experiences; use the person's life story in any activity; make activities out of personal care; conduct activities specifically for men; fill evening hours to alleviate sundowning; provide ""take-away"" activities for family caregivers to use at home; incorporate exercise into activities; use the Internet to expand and enrich activities. Many activities can be conducted spontaneously, with simple props, engaging older people in meaningful activity for extended periods. Best Friends activities are adult-oriented and flexible enough for staff and residents to add their own ideas. Special features include a list of the latest and most effective resources for activity professionals and helpful tips on communicating with people with dementia.

Expand and enrich your Best Friends activity programming with 149 all-new activities for individuals with dementia. Like the first book, this collection of fun and easy activities will add both meaning and enjoyment to the activities at your adult day center, home care setting, or residential care facility.

This updated edition of the bestselling book addresses today’s intense pressures in staffing and retention. It shows vividly how the Best Friends™ approach to dementia care improves quality of life not only for persons with memory loss but also for the staff providing care. Give the staff the skills and satisfaction to keep them on the job. Includes: Stories from successful dementia programs, chapter-by-chapter toolkits of training techniques and learning exercises, ways to support and retain staff, and actionable ideas to improve the care culture.