The steps

It is sometimes difficult to understand why, from one day to the next, our loved one no longer seems capable of doing an activity they were doing without problem yesterday. Neurodegenerative diseases are complex and develop non-linearly. Stages overlap and vary from person to person. It is important to keep in mind that a person may be unable to do an activity for several days or weeks and regain the ability to do it later. We must try to gently reintegrate the activity to allow the person to remain autonomous for as long as possible.

There will be times when the meaning of words will be difficult to find, when it will be difficult to pick up objects, when connections will no longer be made automatically. But above all, remember that the important thing is to ensure that the person is in a situation of success. You must avoid making your loved one experience failures so that they continue to want to do activities and enjoy their residual abilities.

When you offer an activity to your loved one, it can be difficult to decode the words or the purpose when it is out of context. For example, if you ask the person if they want to sort travel photos while they are getting up from the table, they may not understand what you have in mind. Let's say you take out the photos and spread them out in front of them; it will be much easier to understand and find interest in them. If your loved one does not react, you can look at a photo, comment on it, and put it in the "Seaside Trip" column. Take a second photo and ask your loved one to comment on it and put it in the correct column. Preparing column titles can help with this activity. Perhaps your loved one enjoys watching and listening to you? They can enjoy themselves while seeming more passive, just by listening to you and watching you do this sorting. If they do not disengage, that is a step in the right direction.

So, to summarize, the first step would be to verbally invite your loved one to do an activity. Then, you can start the movement since people often have a click by imitating others, and finally, you can encourage them physically by helping them take the object to its destination. Often, within one of these steps, the assisted person will become interested in the activity and understand it. Take your time and let the other person do the same. The pleasure is in the steps and not in the result, and especially, in the time spent together.