Senile squalor syndrome: more common than you think
Humans have the ability to bestow meaning onto material objects. For most of us, our entire home is filled with sentimental objects and the process of down scaling when moving into a care home, can be very stressful and traumatic. Senile squalor syndrome also known as Diogenes syndrome, however, is a form of cognitive […]
Doll therapy – instinctive nurturing
Sue Paul, an Occupational Therapist from the USA, giving examples of how therapy dolls can support individuals living with dementia to engage in functional activities and assist with challenging behaviour. Beautiful stories of how doll therapy are used successfully. http://www.soundoptions.com/blog/instinctive-nurturing-therapy-dolls-dementia
The Good, The Bad, The Over-scheduled
There seems to be an expectations that residents in care homes, should be entertained all day, every day and a lot of effort is put into event/activity calendars. This blog looks at 5 characteristics of an ‘event’ vs. solitary activities. Both are important in a care home environment and special care should be taken […]
Doll therapy – not just playing
Dementia Care Australia founder and chief executive officer, Jane Verity, is a passionate advocate for doll therapy and has written many papers on its benefits, as well as explaining opposing views. This article is a brief introduction with some ‘Do and Don’t’ advise. https://www.agedcareguide.com.au/talking-aged-care/do-you-support-doll-therapy
What do London bus drivers, astronauts and older people have in common?
The link between illness and sitting first emerged in the 1950’s, when researchers found London bus drivers were twice as likely to have heart attacks as their bus conductor colleagues. There has been an explosion of research on the ills of sitting in the past few years, prompted by our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. It is […]
If you do not use it, you lose it!
We are all familiar with this phrase and it remains true even when we get older. It reminds me of a comment made during a training session where we discussed ‘Being too helpful isn’t helping’: “So, do we then not teach our children that it is good manners to help older people?” Off course […]
Traditional Old Age Homes – do we need to change?
GERATEC’s motto is ‘Excellence in person-centred care’. We have been working hard to assist organisations to change their model of care from the traditional medical model to person-centred care. More recently, we became involved in Retirement Villages with the aim of ‘Aging in Place’ – where care services are provided to a resident in their […]
Are you looking for the ‘perfect activity programme’ for people living with dementia?
Unfortunately, there is no such programme … Meaning in any activity is only derived when a connection is established: with one self, other people or with nature. Supporting a person living with dementia to ‘connect’ can only be done through authentic relationships and knowing the individual. A short and well written article: http://dementia.stir.ac.uk/blogs/dementia-centred/2016-08-08/key-connection-not-magic-list
Innovation from Older People to overcome difficulties at home
Staying independent with activities of daily living is one of the key contributors to quality of life as one grows older. There are a number of companies that provide specialist assistive devices to support independence when difficulties are experienced. These devices are an invaluable part of supporting people to maintain independence but unfortunately, not all are able […]