The biggest issue I’ve had with Jim has been his lack of motivation to do anything that makes him think.

He doesn’t like puzzles, he’s never been a reader, he doesn’t like documentaries. He has no interest in learning how things work, he was never a handyman etc.

All of the above are activities that help preserve the brains power to operate.

So, I’ve found a work around that also helps me to gauge how well he’s comprehending in that moment. I’ve started telling him riddles and silly jokes to 1) improve his mood and distract him from focusing on what he cannot do 2) he has to remember the beginning of the joke to get the joke and 3) he has to understand things like puns and double meanings to find the joke funny.

It’s a good brain exercise.

Online is full of an infinite supply of dumb jokes, so it’s an easy way to keep your loved one engaged while covering a variety of topics to see if you can spark another area of interest, or just monitor what they can remember or understand.

For Jim, I can’t tell long jokes anymore. If they’re more than a paragraph of two, he loses the beginning. The jokes don’t have to be obvious, he still understands most double meanings and puns. Jokes provide another measure on my toolbox for monitoring his decline. At least this one is fun.