In the digital age, not many people choose to print out photographs. Instead, they share the images over social media and call it a day. For seniors, however, this is not something they’ll necessarily do. Unless your loved one has a Facebook or Instagram profile, they aren’t likely to be able to see your pictures of the baby growing up or a new puppy.
Consider printing out photographs and turning them into photo albums for your older friend or relative. There are other reasons to do this as well, like helping someone with Alzheimer’s disease remember who people are.
Here are some ideas to think of when making a photo album:
Go Person by Person
Especially if your loved one has Alzheimer’s and is residing in a memory care unit, you might want to make an album for each person in their life. This can help represent the growth they are undergoing as they age. Many people with memory loss seem to have each individual frozen at a certain age. This can make seeing an older version of them very confusing and disorienting. Create a photo album for each person your senior loved one sees frequently. This way, they can look at them and remember who they are.
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Photos from a senior’s past can take them back to pleasant memories they can still recall.
Work Together
You can also have one recall memories in their past with the help of a photo album. See if he or she has any photographs from his or her childhood or younger days. Go through the albums and photos with the seniors. Have your loved one flip through the pages and tell stories about the faces they remember. You may be surprised how much the senior lights up from being able to recall something from the past. People who are in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s may be especially likely to find this reassuring, as losing their memory is a new experience.
Go Digital
Some senior loved ones are tech-savvy and enjoy browsing the Web. If you have a new baby or are active on social media, you likely post quite a few photos that your loved one may want to take a look at. Consider starting a photo-sharing page where people the older individual knows can post shots of their lives. They can easily understand how the grandchildren and even great-grandkids are growing up and work on his or her memory. This is helpful because they may better recognize someone the next time they visit because of their familiarity with the photographs.
Write down the photo-sharing website address and your senior loved one’s account name and password. Keep copies of this information with you in case the older individual loses it or can’t remember where to locate it. As long as you have their profile information on hand, you can easily help the individual log in over the phone.
