Round table reading is the same as "buddy reading" in school. Everyone one is given the opportunity to read a page.
Of course, when you are working w/residents w/varying levels of cognition, physical abilities, and motivation, you respect them for where they are in that moment.
Often, activity professionals and other caregivers just do not understand how round table reading can ever be a successful activity.
This, as most other activity programs, is not something that you can simply place in front of people then walk away from. You may even have to stand and move around the table assisting as needed.
People are successful in different ways on different days. There may be an individual who can read every page. Someone else may only be able to read a word or two and need assistance. Another, may be able to turn the page w/the group. While another may need assistance w/turning pages and may simply enjoy looking at the pictures and listening to the story.
Not every story has to have pictures. The books presented were designed for mid to low level Alzheimer's.
You can purchase read along books too. The following are pictures of ones I made. They were time consuming but simple to make with the help of the internet. Basically, I just copied, pasted and printed.
The most challenging aspect of this activity is helping your workers to be into it. I've worked with only a few people who have "gotten it" and only a couple of them who had the knack to make this enjoyable and empowering for the residents. It's really helpful to celebrate the small things and be enthusiastic.
Yes, it had been a trying day, an experience in frustration, a day from devised by demons.
Then, I dropped my snacks. Then I took a picture of said snacks & posted it on Instagram with the caption, "Et tu, snacks?" as though it was my snacks fault that they were dropped. As though my walnuts, wasabi peas, and raisins decided to revolt and started shaking and jumping about like Mexican jumping beans on Flakka until they flung themselves from my hands. My stressful clumsiness was not to be blamed. It was the snacks! They deserved to be humiliated on social media. I earned that moment of American exceptionalism. I was having a bad day. (Insert eye roll emoji here) Aaaaand action!
A photo posted by jennandbellajean (@jennandbellajean) on
To be honest, this summer, nay this past year, has felt a bit like Chinese water torture or Spanish water torture as it's sometimes referred to in Europe (no offense to Chinese people or Spaniards. If anyone has a more politically correct name for the act of restraining a person then dripping water on the same spot on her forehead until she goes insane, please let me know). While everything major has stayed pretty status quo, there has been a constant pick, pick, picking quality of existence that is about to send me screaming into the wild. It's as though the universe is a bratty child poking me in my arm repeatedly saying "are you annoyed yet?"
In retaliation, I instagram my fancy snacks and play Candy Crush more than is good me. What a loser.
See, here's the thing. I know things can be way worse. I know that performers canceling at the last minute, or simply not showing up (so my day has to do a complete turn-around and tasks that would've been completed still sit wait), working 50 hours a week and being paid only for 40 and not being eligible for any comp. time or allowed to even document the actual number of hours worked ( so it looks as though 50 hours of work were completed in 40), working short for close to 2 months (again) d/t to call offs (b/c when your staff is very very tiny, that's just what happens), being viewed as a non-essential employee in the health care world and having everyone think your job is "so much fun"(especially nurses who get paid for all their hours worked. Oh, and get bonuses for shifts picked up). None of this compares to having your house blown up, your city bombed time and time again, having to choose which belongings to pack in a backpack as you flee your home.
This photo came out sometime during the week that almost broke me. The same day I saw this during a moment stolen from the workday to hurriedly check in with the virtually real world. Later that afternoon I was confronted by an mob of angry grandmas protesting the rules of bingo. Yes, bingo. Not my rules - the official bingo rules(yes there are official bingo rules).
Them: Today in bingo somebody won with a postage stamp but it was wrong.
Me : Oh.. o.k (shrug) What?
Them: It was in the wrong corner.
Me: There is a right corner?
Them: It's always the upper left hand corner.
(They are very upset about this, getting louder, people are starting to talk at the same time)
Me: I was unaware that there was a specific corner. Whatever you want to do ....
Them: We've always played it like that.
Me: O.k. I did not know that.
Them: She said it's not in the bingo rules
Me: There are bingo rules??
At this point my assistant approaches, hands me her phone with the page to the official bingo rules pulled up. A postage stamp can be in any corner, by the way.
Me: Oh, a postage stamp can be in any corner according the official bingo rules.
This is a guided imagery exercise that you can do with your clients in a nursing facility. All exercises are appropriate for seated clients.
As always, encourage your residents to work according to their best abilities. The script seems lengthier and more time consuming than it actually is. Everything depends on how much energy you as an activity leader are willing to put into the program.
Check with the doctors, therapy and nursing departments to learn about contraindications &/or necessary modifications for your group.
You are welcomed to print and share w/anyone. The material is copyrighted; so, please give credit where it's due.
Allegedly, embedding a pdf in blogger is ooohhh so easy ....... not.
When I was a kid, I loved decorating the Christmas tree. And by decorating, I mean hanging every last bulb and bauble on that poor tree then topping it off with a box or 2 of tinsel.
But, I'm all grown up now, allegedly. And, um, I still do the same exact thing hee heee. Well, actually, this year my personal tree was quite grown up, thank you. However, every year we have decorated a tree at a local metro park. These trees are always themed & the decorations are sometimes handmade - or, some of them are anyway. Our tree is usually the most full and ..... umm..... interesting. & yes, it's January. But xmas is an insane season. & honesty, i don't know if anyone actually sees the tree at the part. Allegedly, it's always very crowded and chaotic there during their holiday festivities. So, these are tree ideas i thought i would share in case someone ever has to do a silly themed tree &, i don't know, because i have pictures of these trees and need to do something with them. This year, the tree had an elf theme. This was a theme that had been used before. So, some of the elves were able to be reused. However, most of the other decorations had become scattered. Anyway - pretty simple - Just took pictures of staff & residents and print shopped the faces onto elf bodies. Time consuming but doable. The other decorations were simply toys purchased from the dollar store. (some elfin faces have been blurred d/t hippa)
One of my favorite decorations on this tree was the jacks. And the super balls.
I kind of liked this tree this year. I thought it was kind of playful and happy. Of course, the other trees were way more mature and not nearly as full. But...... screw it.
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Last year, the theme was "pearls of wisdom." This was an idea given to me by another activity director.
She had scoured thrifts and gotten pearl necklaces and such throughout the year. I tend to live more "spontaneously". There was a lot of stringing of beads going on. Eventually I found cheap pearl-like garland at Marc's. Shew! At first I thought - hey, let's make our own pearls. I & "M" "A" & "K" gave and great college try. But..... no. We did end up with
cute -ish little pearly decorations though.
Some of these we hot glued pipe cleaners to and then made that curly-q thing w/a pencil, you know?
Basically, the tree consisted of pearls and stuff.
We also cut hearts out of poster board, decoupaged wrapping paper on them. Then we asked the residents to share some "words of wisdom." And put them on the hearts. The project was a bit larger than I would have liked it to be.
& oh, yes - there was a crap load of bow making. Thank goddess for you tube.
Oh, yeah. We also made these sparkly things with glitter and Pledge.
The tree was a bit loppy. But .... meh.
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The year before that we did a woodland theme. Same concept as the elves, but turned people into little animals and used pine cones and birds and such for decorations.
Can't find those pictures though.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave constructive comments or questions.
There are a couple of things that are circulating on Facebook that have me more than a bit irked. First.....
This is an awesome video. I've seen it circulating with the description something like "a Jewish lady sings to a Christian lady." BFD. The lady singing is Naomi Feil. She created the Validation technique, a way to interact with people who are treading water in the murky slough of Alzheimer's.
The fact that Naomi is Jewish and Gladys is Christian has absolutely nothing to do with anything here. Although Naomi has a graduate degree in something & her title is a social worker, she is basically just an activity professional. And when one is just an activity professional, one is whatever one is needed to be in the moment. Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Atheist. It just doesn't matter. There is no religion when it comes to working w/Alzheimer's residents. All you needs is empathy, patience, compassion and most importantly detachment from a supposed end result.
This is not a Christmas miracle or even an example of god's greatness. (I think those who think this should read up on the symbolisms of validation technique.) This is is just what any activity professional that is worth a damn would do.
So, Get over it!!
Naomi may well have worked with Gladys every day for 6 months, a year, a week. Maybe not singing these songs, but sitting with her holding her hand, reading to her, massaging her forehead, showing her pictures ..... whatever. Or, this may have been their first interaction. There is no formula nor timetable. Also, Naomi may have seen this response only once. Gladys may very well have retreated back into her memory den, never to respond in this or any other way again.
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I once worked with a lady i'll call "B". She was deeply confused and extremely anxious. Her disease was not as progressed as Gladys'. B was still verbal although to describe her speech as nonsensical would be an understatement. I decided i was going to have a poetry group and see what happened. I shut the door, put on relaxing classical music and showed the residents pictures of landscapes. Most everyone fell asleep except B.
B & I looked at a picture of the ocean. I told her we were going to write a poem. And asked her to talk to me about the picture. She asked what it was. I told her it was the ocean.
& this is what we got:
I've always liked the Ocean,
my mother was born very near it.
I've always thought my father kept a magical part of it in his soul.
I've always liked the ocean.
It's wild and uncontrollable.
Alive, not easily reachable.
Marvelous waves. Unstoppable.
You can't stop a wave.
My mother and father were close to the ocean.
I didn't know that until they were older.
Stronger.
My memories of my mother and father are as of the waves.
Unstoppable, beautiful.
I've always liked the ocean.
Yes. She said all that. I arranged a bit. But those were her words. And yes, she did repeat "i've always liked the ocean."
And... this never happened again. I tried ... a few times. But that was all she had to say about that.
I guess.
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I once worked w/a lady, "L". L loved to stay in her bed and make wonderful works of art on the wall with her feces. She was combative, aggressive, downright nasty & minimally verbal. She was pretty deep into her disease and also very very hard of hearing. One to one time w/L. was one of my one to one assignments. Yay. :/
Since communication was limited, i simply visited w/L and showed her pictures. By doing this i discovered that she really liked birds as evidenced by the length of time she looked at those pictures and a softening of facial expressions. I decorated her walls with pictures of birds.
I decided we would try some coloring. I brought a coloring page of a bird and crayons & showed it to L.
Nothing.
I colored a bit of the picture then offered her the crayon. She took it and began coloring ... just a little. She said "pretty." Just a word but an appropriate one. When I left she said "Thank you."
Did she ever color again? Hell no. Nor, did she ever really interact with me that positively again. But that one time was pretty cool. And it happened after weeks and weeks of visits.
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I guess what i'm saying is this: no matter how deeply entrenched a person is in her Alzheimer's/dementia. She is still in there. And bringing her out, getting a response, is a lot of work sometimes. And a lot of detachment all the time. But it can be done. For a moment anyway. And if it is done, it will usually be done by those who are considered to be the lip gloss of the facility. Those with the "cake job." By those people who are just activity professionals.
