A Trip Down Memory Lane
One in three of us will be unlucky enough to suffer from dementia. This is a chilling fact when you consider three of your closest friends or family member’s and that one of them stands the chance of being stripped of their memories and connections with life. With no cure on the horizon, dementia is fast joining cancer as one of the alphabet of dreaded diseases. Dementia cruelly transports sufferers back to a moment in time, invariably from their childhood, and in doing so robs victims of the meaning of life, switching fact with fiction so seamlessly that it could be the plot of a movie blockbuster. Like a sick and twisted time machine it metamorphoses people’s realities such that people and moments from 40 years previous have greater currency than the day before.
So if a cure is not an option, we need to look at how best we can improve dementia sufferers’ sense of wellbeing, and this is where play with sensory toys comes in. Early research findings suggest that sensory stimulation can improve sufferer’s behaviour and mood, provide calming relief, increase communication, lower anxiety and support reminiscences and conversation. We know how important our hands are for children’s brain development and it seems that giving people something enjoyable to fiddle with also brings benefits in old age.
With the onset of dementia characterised by the loss of brain function due to cell death, the challenge is holding onto as many of these functions and faculties for as long as possible. Galvanising memories is key and just as young children enjoy copying parents doing daily chores, so too many dementia sufferers enjoy sweeping floors, making beds or baking, as these serve as links to a lost adult life.
Getting to know dementia sufferers is amazing, humbling and scary in equal measure. It reminds us of the importance of our senses, so pivotal in early development, and the fact
that we’re never too old to benefit from sensory stimulation. It also r einf or c es how life is a cycle, as we enter the world as a vulnerable child and leave it equally vulnerable and child-like. It’s important to take a positive from all this sadness and for me this is the realisation of just how important it is helping children to forge vivid childhood play memories – not just because these will enrich children’s childhood, develop strong attachments and support brain development, but also because if we are unlucky enough to be the one in three condemned to life with dementia, we will be reliving these same memories on a daily basis, as these become our new reality.
So how best can we support memory development in children? Although holidays and special occasions are great for this, there’s a wealth of everyday activities that are fun, great for building memories and don’t cost the earth. Climbing trees, toasting marshmallows on a fire, making and flying kites or baking cookies are all low cost, but give children the opportunity to experience these activities in a full-bodied way. So it is not just the sights sounds and feel of climbing a tree that will stay with them, but also the fear and achievement. Similarly baking brings with it physical movement as well as yummy tastes and smells. The greater the number of senses stimulated the greater the chance of drawing upon these memories throughout life. And this is where we come in, not just in keeping our children safe and nourished but also in ‘feeding’ them magical memories, which may just make the difference in later life.
It’s all Child’s Play
Feature by Sue Gascoyne of Play-Z Ltd 69
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