My mother has vascular dementia – the symptoms are similar to those of Alzheimer's, except that the rate of progression of symptoms is different. my mother can no longer speak, and she is in a wheelchair. she does not/can not read anymore. she remembers things and ideas, but often gets them confused. for instance: she remembers how to play checkers, but often moves pieces of the wrong color during the game, or starts going the wrong direction. I read somewhere that items like a bag of buttons to sort are good ideas. however, she often flushes small items like that down the toilet. for many months she enjoyed coloring, but no longer takes an interest in it…I think she has too much difficulty with the fine motor skills.

I would appreciate any gift ideas anyone might have.

Your question reminded me of the book, "my many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss. she might enjoy someone reading that to her. It's a great book…one of my favorites. Another thing that comes to mind is something that she once had a passion for before she got vascular dementia. what is her favorite color? Perhaps find that color in a piece of clothing.

What about a book on tape/cd read by yourself or other family members? Or anything read by loved ones. my great grandmother would do much better when she heard familiar voices repetitively. she had a tape of my great grandfather telling the night before Christmas that she really enjoyed. good luck and God Bless!

this may seem lame but it worked well for us…my wifes grandmother is in the same boat and we made the mistake of getting her clothing and keepsakes….but for all she knew she had that clothing for 20 years and as far as keepsakes ,she forgot who she got it from the day after we got it for her…so what we do now is put together a gift basket of fine edibles,like good chocolates and jellies and jams and fine cheeses etc….that way we know our gift will be enjoyed and used and …the sorrow of not having the gift remembered is minimalized as it is only food…I guess i am reccomending getting something short term and disposable…but is still a pleasureable treat for them.