What if laughter is in fact, the best medicine? Laughter has many benefits including creating a social connection between two people, the brain’s release of powerful endorphins which can reduce pain and discomfort, improved oxygen and blood flow and relaxed muscles.

With all of these benefits, why not use laughter in speech therapy sessions? I have researched different ways to use cognitive stimulation therapy and we are in luck!

This silly sentences activity is easy to implement in an individual or small group setting. Some of these “punny” jokes will make you roll your eyes, others will seriously make you laugh out loud.

How to implement in therapy:

1. Pass out all of the answers to the patients in the group. Include therapists or visitors as well!
2. Place the questions in a coffee can or large cup.
3. Choose a judge to determine if the answers provided are correct (Hilarious) or incorrect (Boo). The judge can rotate around the group each turn or two, depending on patient goals.
4. Take turns pulling out a question. Each player will look at their answer to determine if their answer matches the question. If they think it is the correct match, they should read their answer aloud or hold up their answer for the therapist to read aloud.
5. At that time the judge will either agree or disagree.
6. Play continues for designated amount of time.

There are 30 questions and answers included in this FREE download!

This activity promotes cognitive stimulation, language skills and social interaction. It is equally facilitating for patients working on breath support in phrases and sentences.

Cognitive Stimulation Therapy is a researched based approach that is appropriate for early to moderate dementia.

Benefits include: Improved confidence, concentration and mood, improved language skills (naming, word-finding and understanding), enables the patient to practice staying physically and mentally active, improved social interactions from being in a group, increased quality of life.

I have shared a few other free cognitive and group activities on the SNF portion of my blog so check them out HERE!

I can’t wait to hear how your patients enjoy this and the level of laughter that you lead your groups in!

Do you need convenient affordable CEUs? I love MedBridge because I can listen to courses at my convenience, even in the car.

Use my code GARDENIA at check out and this affiliate link to get $175 off an annual membership.

 

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