Making Paper Flowers - Art Therapy for those with Alzheimer's

Art Therapy is a powerful tool for treating Alzheimer’s disease. Arts & Crafts won’t cure the illness, but they can stimulate the brain in a new direction.

Research has found that art allows Alzheimer’s patients to bypass language, it can trigger dormant memories and encourage conversation.

It has been proved that art can awaken patients in cognitive decline as well as lessen aggressive behaviour. 

Art Therapy has been found in many cases to lessen symptoms, increase function and improve quality of life.

By introducing Arts & Crafts into our daily routine I have found that my mum is much happier and less agitated.

Crafts have given her back a way of expressing herself and provide her with a real sense of accomplishment.

Making paper flowers is one of my mum's favourite hobbies. As her Alzheimer's progresses she is finding it difficult to do complex tasks on her own but she is still able to cut out shapes using a template and follow an example.

I provide a template for petals and leaves and she will happily sit for hours cutting out the pretty, brightly coloured shapes. She particularly enjoys covering wooden kebab skewars with long strips of green crepe paper to create the stems!

Together we glue the stamens and petals to the stems and once she's done two or three with me, she's able to carry on by herself!

She's so proud of her beautiful flowers ... and so am I!!

Somehow when my mum is immersed in her crafts she has real moments of clarity and her artistic flair re-emerges which is wonderful to see.

My mum and I both find making paper flowers a wonderful therapy! These flowers make her feel valued and useful again! 

And for me, I can relax and enjoy spending time with her being creative ... its almost like the craft-time we spent before the Alzheimer's took hold.

Creating something beautiful that we can give to others brings us so much joy ... the Doctor's surgery, Memory Clinic, friend's houses are all brightened up with pretty flowers and our home is filled with ever-lasting happy memories of time spent together! 

How to make a crepe paper flower

We find the premium quality crepe is best as it is strong so doesn't rip easily & can be stretched and curled for the petals and leaves.

The happiness that art and crafts bring can make all the difference in the life of a loved one living with Dementia.I hope my blog will be found by someone who finds it helpful and I would welcome any comments or other creative ideas to try!

www.creative-carer.com