This year we really worked hard on putting together a lot of patriotic activities for our program. Yesterday we had a group of folk singers come by and sing patriotic songs, and we wrote letters to soldiers last week as well.
We also have a few ladies who really enjoy making crafts, no matter how big or small. We’ve found that one of the crafting activities that seems to work well for a variety of independence levels is crunching up little squares of colored tissue paper and pasting them to an object or a drawing.
To get an activity like this ready all you really need are some sheets of colored tissue paper and scissors, or actually, I prefer using one of those long blades with a grid base (I forget what to call it) so you can cut up one inch squares quicker. We put these flat squares of tissue paper into small cups, like old margarine containers, and put them around the table for our members to choose from. They can then scrunch the paper into whatever shape they’d like and then dip it in some glue to paste it to their shape. Also, for those who have trouble with individually dipping each piece, you can spread glue onto the shape first and then scrunch the paper up and drop them on.
We’ve been working with a gentleman who recently began worrying in the afternoon that he needed to get to his job, and that he had a ton of things he needed to do that day. Sound familiar? This sort of behavior can be awfully difficult to redirect, since he is focused on the tasks he believes he needs to accomplish. And, it is compounded with the notion that he spent all day playing games and needs to play catch-up.
If you’ve been working with dementia, I’m sure you’ve heard that often a person’s thinking reverts to an earlier period in their life. Hopefully, it was a nice period that they feel comfortable in. Sometimes, if a person’s early life was rather difficult, this symptom of dementia can be hard to live with.
In trying to help our gentleman we employ a few different strategies. First, we try reassurance. I tell him that he had the day off or that all his work is taken care of. We also try to pre-empt his sudden realization he should be at work by playing cards or dice games beforehand. Inevitably, he looks at his watch and sees the day is almost over and starts to worry. So, we may try to redirect him with an activity or take him on a walk to the restroom to take his mind off of it. Usually between these methods we could keep him stable.
During the MEPAP course I’m currently taking (MEPAP stands for Modular Education Program for Activity Professionals, and is part of the requirements to become a certified activity director) we occasionally have a chance to share experiences and stories from our facilities. One of our classmates shared this true gem.
At her facility, they have a resident to believes that he is Jesus Christ. One day, another person who was admitted to the facility also began claiming that he was Jesus Christ. Fearful of the outcome if Jesus ever met Jesus, they made sure their two rooms were in far apart units.
This year we really worked hard on putting together a lot of patriotic activities for our program. Yesterday we had a group of folk singers come by and sing patriotic songs, and we wrote letters to soldiers last week as well.
