Boosting brain power together to benefit quality of life
 

Welcome to Simon’s Dementia Activities, a growing collection of free, enjoyable and easy-to-use activities designed for people living with dementia, their families, friends, care partners and those supporting them.
 

I’m Dr Simon T. O’Donovan MBE, a retired Consultant Nurse for Dementia Care. After many years working alongside people living with dementia and their families, I now use my experience to create practical resources that encourage conversation, thinking, reminiscence, creativity and, most importantly, enjoyment.
 

Many of the activities are inspired by the principles of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST), but you don't need to know anything about CST to use them. I've deliberately designed the resources to be straightforward and ready to use at home, in friendship and support groups, day services or residential care.
 

Something for everyone
 

You'll find themed activity collections, quizzes and puzzles, reminiscence, conversation starters, music, arts and crafts, practical activities, picture recognition challenges and videos. Topics often draw on familiar people, places, music, television, films, everyday life and significant events - providing plenty of opportunities to talk, remember, laugh and share experiences.
 

These aren't tests and there is no pressure to get everything “right”. The aim is to stimulate rather than test, adapting activities to people's interests and abilities and using them as a starting point for meaningful interaction.
 

Above all, Simon’s Dementia Activities is about doing things together. A familiar song can spark a memory. A photograph can begin a conversation. A quiz question can lead somewhere completely unexpected. A simple creative activity can provide a sense of achievement and fun.
 

Explore the activities, choose whatever appeals to you and make them your own.

And if something here creates a conversation, raises a smile or helps make someone's day a little brighter, then it has done exactly what it was created to do.
 

Engage • Connect • Share • Enjoy