Immersive Dementia Activities in the Home
Over the past few weeks at Longbridge Deverill Nursing Home, residents, family, and staff have been busy! Experiencing a variety of very colourful and immersive activities. Staff and families experienced a training session to really discover what it can feel like for people living with dementia.
The immersive dementia training experience allowed those who attended, to experience scenarios where senses were dulled, reducing the ability to function with full understanding; awareness being impaired and similar sensations of reduced ability.
The immersive dementia training was very informative and we had amazing feedback from all the families and staff who attended.
Cognitive games like jigsaws, quizzes and word searches are also a good way for people living with dementia to keep an active mind and continue to have a sense of fun.
Residents have enjoyed a variety of musical entertainment, with some gentle dance exercises, as well as singing along to the nostalgic tunes in the colourful pantomime, “Best of Broadway”!
Reminiscing with Interactive Destination Area
At Longbridge Deverill Nursing Home we also were delighted to hold the opening ceremony of the Nursery and Pets area. Residents have enjoyed embracing the lifelike dolls, listening to reminiscent rhymes, pushing prams around the unit or just quietly reflecting on those cherished memories with their little ones.
Our activities team, unit leaders and managers have been busy creating interactive destination areas with themes the likes of ‘bird-watching,’ Royal Mail,’ Hairdressing,’ War, Bakery, and nostalgic sweet shop; with more in planning.
It's been lovely having some helping hands as some residents enjoyed creating ensembles of miniature-themed memory boxes for the destination areas.
The Nursery and Pets area has proved to be beneficial in that holding a doll or toy animal can be soothing. It can also remind people of a time when they had young children or a pet of their own.
The creation of dementia-friendly destination areas has created exciting new topics of discussion and interaction between staff, residents, families and visitors. These areas also add interest and variety, so that there is always something of interest to look at while walking around – this maintains cognitive functioning for people living with dementia.
Much like gentle exercise is good for the body, these games are good for the brain. Keeping residents focused on a task is smoothly maintained by the activities team members, who each always recognise the value of person-centred engagement and interaction during the planned, or spontaneous activities.
Residents enjoyed the immersive activities board, where they can choose from sensory activities, music, film, and apps for art!
The destination areas created within the dementia units have enhanced residents’ daily lives within the home. Children and grandchildren visiting their loved ones have also shown delight and interest in these areas, which encourages family conversation and reminiscence.
Holi Celebrations
Another cheerful array of colours was displayed in our Holi festival of Spring, where residents dressed in colourful attire sprinkled coloured powders onto art canvases. That same day we celebrated a lovely colourful birthday party for a resident, Sean.
Incorporating the Hindu festival as an activity allowed residents to share conversations about other cultures whilst generating a sense of inclusion amongst the residents, staff and families.
