Just Pass Me By

I have learned something recently, and I am glad I learned it. I have to say I wish my father in law doctor had shared this information with me. He knows I work with Autistic children so it is not too far of a jump to figure I would understand the term Sensory integration, and that it would do dad some good. Sensory integration is doing activity which deal with the different senses. This can help them feel better, and happier and involved. The problem is if you just leave them sit at home and do nothing this allows them to become depressed, but if you get them playing with something like ball that lights up, play doh, puzzles, or art type projects, soft balls and other things like it will help. Now the thing is with some people you can’t give them things that normally children would enjoy because they might not want to do it. The way I handle this problem is by doing some of the activities with dad, and this makes him happy.
I will say I was shocked how happy he was just by simply throwing a ball back and forth did it for a half hour the other day. Yesterday we got him a bowling ball set, and we played that together and he enjoyed that too.
The thing is with Alzheimer’s yes it is horrible to deal with but when they are in their right mind it is hard for them not to be involved in our lives especially when they live in the same home. Dad likes to go to casino, I guess he gets plenty of sensory input there with all the lights and sounds.
Today we got some paint and color by number which he seemed interested in doing so it will be nice to see how well he likes it once he gets started. I wish the doctor would have told us about doing something like this sooner, and not find out through someone who not a doctor. So keeping them involved in simple tasks they are able to do is the key to keeping them happy.