JOAN’S BLOG – MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2008 –EXERCISING THE ALZHEIMER BRAIN
The advice is everywhere – magazine articles, TV segments, expert “studies” – keep the Alzheimer patient’s brain as active as possible. Don’t let them vegetate in front of the TV! 
It is a fact of life that AD sufferers are unable to initiate activities on their own, organize them, and follow through on them. They need us or some other facilitator to give them activities to do.
I spent 25 years as a special educator and language therapist designing activities for language impaired students. I was known as the “fun lady” in both the high and middle schools in my last district. When I walked into a classroom, the kids knew they were in for a good time  (It only dawned on them later that they were actually learning something!) So I figured it could not be that difficult to come up with activities for my husband to keep his brain active. Once again, in the world of AD, I was proven wrong, and taught a valuable lesson by my AD husband.
I put Scrabble on his computer; a friend gave him crossword puzzles; I put Bookworm – a word finding game, on his computer. Gee, I thought he would have fun, and strengthen the vocabulary area of his brain. All it did was frustrate and anger him. Language manipulation has always been his weakest area, and it is the area that AD took first, and this is what he said to me:  “The words aren’t there; I can’t make them come back; they’re gone. I have accepted what I have lost. Instead, I’d rather work to strengthen what I still have.” Now why couldn’t I have been that wise?
One day he saw me working on a “What is different about these two pictures?” puzzle. He has always been a visual learner; he has always done well understanding and manipulating anything visual – he was immediately intrigued by this puzzle. Darned if he didn’t persist and persist and persist until he found all six of the differences in the pictures. Believe me, they were very subtle and difficult to discern. I only found 5/6 on the puzzle we were working on. He has asked me to look in the stores for these types of puzzle books. No, he would not think or remember to look in the stores on his own, but I can certainly do that task for him.
As I have mentioned many times, he graduated from a technical electronics school. He could take apart and put together any piece of electronic equipment – he could read and understand those impossible technical manuals. Now it is a chore for him to understand the directions and hook up any electronic device, but he asked me to let him try to program the new GPS system his cousin sent us. He asked that I leave him alone, let him try to figure it out on his own, and give him the time he needs to do it. He said it is important for him to try. I applaud him for his desire and determination, and of course will leave him to the task. (Only for one week, however, as I need that GPS – after a week, if he hasn’t figured it out, he has agreed that I can call in the troops to help.)
Sometimes if we stop trying to make them do what we think is best and listen to them or observe them  (in the case of those who cannot express themselves), maybe we can find activities to strengthen the abilities they still have. Maybe you do not need this lesson, but I certainly did.

We will be out all day today – IT’S SPRING TRAINING IN FLORIDA – WE WILL BE AT THE RED SOX/METS GAME!!! That’s the WORLD CHAMPION RED SOX!!!  (We lived in the Boston area for 35 years – TWO championships in FOUR years after an 86 year drought –We’re celebrating,

even if we were only able to get bleacher seats- AD has not robbed Sid of his love of the Red Sox!)
LATE AFTERNOON UPDATE: 10 innings - Tie Game (1-1); Yup - Spring Training games can end in ties.
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