Engaging Sensory Activities For Adults With Disabilities
Inside: Help create a calming environment where your loved one feels secure with these 75 Engaging Sensory Activities for Adults with Disabilities.
Disclaimer: All of these thoughts are my own. However, as an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission if you purchase from one of the links below.
Whether you have a parent with dementia or an adult child with a disability, you may be looking for ways to bond in a way thats comfortable for your loved one.
Sensory activities are a great way for adults with disabilities to engage with their surroundings while creating a calm and relaxing environment. The goal is to help them feel safe and create conversation starters that can help ease their communication struggles.
Its important to help adults with learning disabilities and dementia stay attuned to their surroundings, so they can continue living rich and rewarding lives. Sensory stimulation is a great way to give adults with disabilities the same sensory aids theyd get naturally through their day-to-day lives, but find hard to obtain.
You may struggle with juggling the responsibilities associated with caring for a disabled loved one in that case, I encourage you to seek help like companionship services for seniors.
With that said, lets take a look at some examples of sensory activities for adults with disabilities!
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Activities For Adults Living With Cognitive Mental Disabilities
For adults living with cognitive mental disabilities, it can be a little challenging getting them into large social gatherings and settings because they often serve as bad trigger points for them. It is always best to work with them at their pace. And this means you need to study them and learn what type of things they like and dont like and what their comfort levels are.
Given their very introverted nature due to their social anxiety, not all the activities in the list above will work for them. From the above list, these are the activities that will work best for them.
- Keeping a small garden.
- Music and podcasts .
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Game Levels Of Our Games
The Tovertafel games have game levels between 1 and 5. This figure describes the level of anticipated cognitive activity.
Art And Creative Projects
Art is ideal for adults with disabilities because it is an open-ended activity. There are no real rules for creating artwork. For many people, creating art can be therapeutic. Adults with special needs who can’t communicate easily in other ways might find that art is an ideal way to express themselves.
Gathering lots of art supplies at home is an easy way to get started. Add a socialization element to creativity by signing up the individual for an art class at a local community center, art studio or art museum. Another option is choosing a special art studio designed for adults with special needs. Some of those studios even help adults with disabilities sell their artwork, which can provide an income source when a traditional job isn’t an option.
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Team Or Individual Sports
Whether you play it with a team or solo, sport can be an excellent way for seniors in wheelchairs to keep themselves engaged and active.
Many sporting organizations cater to the needs of a wheelchair user. When it comes to the sports a senior with constrained mobility can play, the list is not short. It includes but not limited to :
However, to play any of these sports, you may have to use specific adaptive equipment required for that sport to improve your overall experience.
For example, if you want to play golf, you can buy adaptive golf clubs such as a swing free golf club for wheelchair users. Similarly, you can find a teeing device that you can set up without bending down.
Similarly, there is adaptive equipment for other sports like tennis, baseball, archery, or sailing.
Sen Activity #1 Going For A Walk Or Ride
A leisurely walk or bike ride around the local community can provide plenty of stimulation and fresh air. Going for a walk or ride on a bike trail is usually fun for most kids. It’s an opportunity to get some fresh air and enjoy nature simultaneously. For children with disabilities, it can be even more beneficial.
If you don’t have a bike trail near you, take a walk around the neighbourhood or in a park. If your child is a wheelchair user, seek advice on the suitability of the terrain before you set off.
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Physical Activities For Adults With Disabilities
Physical activities and exercise can help adults with disabilities achieve their mental and physical potential. Bowling, exercise classes, gardening, team sports, dancing, and swimming are all activities that can be used to promote good holistic health while having fun.
As a matter of fact, a study published in the Therapeutic Recreation Journal in Fall of 2005 reported improved family life, improved social life, enhanced quality of life, and better health for participants with intellectual/developmental disabilities who participated in adaptive and organized recreational activities, such as horseback riding and alpine skiing.
According to the guidelines published in Frontiers in Public Health in April of 2014, older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are encouraged to participate in a minimum of 150 minutes per week of age-appropriate moderate-to-low intensity exercise. This report suggests that when group activities are combined with exercise and social interaction, it could enhance your loved ones enjoyment and motivation.
Going To Amusement Park
Amusement Parks are fun and excitement on steroids. From the roller coaster rides to the water fountain rides, amusement parks always excites and brings out our inner child. You will absolutely thrill and excite an adult living with an intellectual and/or developmental disability with a day out to an amusement park.
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Sen Activity #15 Make Music Together
Children with special needs can enjoy making music just like any other child. It may help them learn about numerical sequences, patterns, and rhythm. If your child is non-verbal or has limited speech, encourage them to use a visual chart to express their musical preferences. An excellent way for children with special needs to get active is through dance. Dance can be a great form of communication for children with limited speech and a perfect way to get involved and have fun!
Sen Activity #8 Colouring
Colouring is another activity that’s perfect for kids of all abilities. It helps develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, and it’s also a great way to let kids express their creativity. You can buy unique colouring books designed for children with special needs, or you can just use regular colouring books and crayons.
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Sen Activity #11 Going On A Trip
A family trip or holiday is another fun activity that helps children with special needs get away from home and explore new places. There are many different types of holidays that you can take, such as to a beach, a camping trip, or a visit to a theme park. A new place is always an exciting adventure. It can be gratifying for children with special needs to explore different surroundings and discover new things.
How Were Making An Impact
Community Integration
Empowerment
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Creative Choices combines a site and community-based day program for adults with a full range of intellectual and other developmental disabilities.
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The curriculum remains perpetually in transition, being implemented, evaluated, updated, and when appropriate, expanded to meet the needs of the program participants.
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Participants make meaningful choices about how and when they participate in daily life-empowering activities.
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Promotes supported decision-making and offers choices in activities meant to enrich life through the pursuit of leisure and recreational activities.
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Maximizing independence through supported decision making and creative exploration to build and promote self-advocacy.
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Provide purposeful and meaningful community integration through activities centered around participants interest.
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Sensory Activities For Developmentally Disabled Adults And Intellectually Disabled Adults
Sensory activities are those activities that engage all our human senses. These activities are very helpful for adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities because it helps them tap into all their sensors and use them to their full potential. This will in turn sharpen their cognitive skills and make it better.
Final Thoughts On Outdoor Activities For Wheelchair Users
As you can see, there are tons of great indoor and outdoor activities for wheelchair users, and our list barely scratches the surface. Although we have broken the collection of activities above into various age-related classifications, theres obviously a considerable amount of overlap here, and most of the items on this list are suitable activities for wheelchair users of any age.
Dont worry if some of the stuff weve talked about here isnt your cup of tea. There are plenty of great wheelchair bound activities to choose from, so dont think for a moment that just because youre not as mobile as you used to be, life as you know it has ended. It hasnt! These ideas are proof of that.
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Indoor Activities For Persons With Disabilities
No matter how we acquired our disabilities, the situation itself can be disheartening. At the start, it can feel like we dont deserve what happened to us. Yet, we still need to adapt to life changes. It is a good thing to know that life continues to move on for each of us. Even with this disability, there are still many exciting activities that you can do.
The concept of excitement doesnt have to dwell on outdoor activities. Even when youre indoors, you can still have fun. As a provider of Care Senior Services in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, we have assisted many persons who have lived through their disabilities. So we know it is possible.
With that, we recommend the following activities that we know are exciting and very doable indoors.
Achieving indoor joys is rewarding even if you have a disability. There are always providers of Home Care Senior Services who can assist you. If ever youre in need of this kind of assistance, set an appointment with us at Compassionate Hearts Home Care of PA.
Learning A New Language
People with intellectual disabilities need to work harder than most when learning a new language but with the right support and patience, it can have a profound affect on their overall development and boosting self confidence. Learning or teaching a foreign language to a loved one with a disability can feel like a daunting task however, there are a few methods you can apply to make it easier to help reduce any anxiety around the idea.
Research has shown that developing phonological skills first and knowing the fundamentals of phonology in your native language before learning a foreign language is key. This solid skill will allow you or your loved one easier decoding of the sounds function of the foreign language your choose, and help build a solid foundation for when you are ready to undergo the next phase of learning. The next steps to adaptable teaching or learning a foreign language are:
- Choosing a foreign language similar to your native tongue as a start
- Slowing the pace of teaching or learning
- Reducing the vocabulary to simpler terms and phrases
- Incorporating multisensory stimulation when reviewing your learning
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What Are Sensory Experiences For Adults
Sensory experiences for adults are activities that engage any of the five senses. For instance, this could be using sight to look through a photo album of relatives or smelling someone cook your favorite childhood meal.
Specifically for adults with dementia, these sensory experiences can trigger past memories that foster positive emotions. For adults with intellectual disabilities, sensory experiences can help them communicate what they are feeling and create trust with a caregiver.
Ultimately, sensory experiences can help an adult with a disability live a more enriching life.
Use Of The Tovertafel
Q. Do I need a special table?A. No you can use any type of table you like, light and matt surfaces work best with the projections.
Q. Does the room have to be dark or can there be daylight in order to use the Tovertafel well?A. The Tovertafel works in almost all light conditions, because the projections are bright and crisp. However, its best to prevent direct sunlight and/or moving shadows on the projected area.
Q. How can I train my personnel in using the Tovertafel?A. The online environment My Tover has 3 extensive learning modules with a lot of instruction videos and tutorials to get your staff trained in using the Tovertafel.
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Day Programs For Adults With Disabilities
The following article is general information about Day programs for adults with disabilities. To see specific programs provided by residential Support Services, view the programs page here.
Day programs for adults with disabilities provide a place for older adults as well as younger adults to be active in the community, outside their homes.
They can also socialize with their peers while still having access to health and personal care services.
These service centers provide help for adults with dementia and Alzheimers disease, as well as Parkinsons, cerebral palsy, and many other disabilities.
Participation in these programs also creates time for caregivers to work outside the home and attend to their own needs, as well as other family members, or to simply enjoy travel on a short-term basis.
Many adults with disabilities wish to remain involved in the community and enjoy social settings, but they may also need help in caring for themselves or need the supervision that is provided at an adult day center.
An adult with a disability who lives at home with family members might be unable to care for themselves if left along during the day, so having the benefits that comes with an adult day center are crucial.
So, not only do these centers benefit the adults who have disabilities, but it also allows their caregivers to work outside the home during the day and still care for their loved ones after the work day is done.
General Costs
Activity Types
Activities You Can Do At Home
For general activity advice
For the intellectually and physically disabled
These activities can be adapted depending on the needs of your client. While some may be suitable, others may not.
Bake
Baking is a fun activity and is great for mental health as it brings out creativity. It is appropriate for all ages, however supervision by an adult/carer may be required. If you love decorating cakes and seeing your creations gives you an exhilarating feeling, baking is definitely a must try.
Cook
Accessible Chef is a collection of free visual recipes and other resources to help teach cooking skills to individuals with disabilities.
Sport Wellington has lots of ideas on how to stay healthy and keep moving at home.
Free Tai Chi lessons from Dr Paul Lam
No crunch abs is a workout video for people with limited mobility
Ivana Exercise are YouTube videos for people with physical and intellectual disabilities
Dance
You dont need to have a video or class to dance along to, just put on your favourite song and let loose!!
Yoga
Gardening
If you have access to a small garden or outdoor space in your home or at the facility, getting outside is great for your mental health. Things that can be done in the garden include:
- Laying sticks to mark the border of the garden bed
- Plant seedlings, herbs and create a veggie garden
Online Puzzle
Journaling or writing a book
Arts and crafts
Puzzles and games
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Ways To Keep Your Loved One Active
Even if you have loads of fun activity ideas, organizing the day so that it is productive and meaningful for your loved one can be a challenge. This is why planning ahead is key. Creating an activity care plan can be a very helpful way to ensure that your loved one is engaged physically and mentally.
Your loved ones activity care plan will depend on their needs and their abilities, but generally speaking, you want to make sure that each day has some social component, some physical component, and some mental stimulation. As you can tell from the activities above, some activities combine more than one of these, so you dont always have to cram the day with a bunch of different activities.
A Social Day Program can also be a great way for your loved one to spend their days. These programs typically include various physical and mental activities in the context of a warm and supportive community. Many programs also provide transportation to and from the program site, making it easy for your loved one to leave their home and allowing you to take a break from caregiving.
Institute on Aging is proud to offer a variety of programs and resources for aging adults living independently, including a Social Day Program. For more information about how your aging loved one can be a part of our community, contact us today.