Resident engagement
necessarily difficult or expensive to set up. Some of the best ones are the simplest ones – below are some stimulating ideas. Knit and chat sessions are as simple
as they sound; all you need are friends, knitting supplies and maybe a couple of cheeky chocolate biscuits. It is a therapeutic social exercise that involves residents sitting together, knitting, and chatting. While bonding over their shared interests, residents have the opportunity to learn more about their fellow peers, helping them to feel more connected and a part of their care home community and boosting their mental wellbeing. Knitting is also an excellent activity
for those with degenerative mental conditions such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, as it relies on muscle memory rather than cognitive memory. Once you have picked up a complex physical skill like knitting, you are unlikely to forget it, which is great for residents who do not feel confident with their memory. The motion of knitting also activates
and develops fine motor skills, which can make residents feel more confident and stronger in their movements and help maintain their independence when holding, lifting, or moving objects. What is best is that knit and chat sessions can be opened up to the local community for a more wholesome collaborative knitting session. Inviting friends, family, and community members into your care home is a great way to help residents feel less isolated and more connected to those around them. This sort of community-creating activity is actively encouraged by charities like the Alzheimer’s Society, which champions the interconnectivity of care homes and their communities.
It is very easy to lose your sense of self when you are removed from your home environment and placed into a clinical space; big moves like this are especially distressing for residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s
To further their prevalence, Care Quality Commission guidelines support and encourage care home/community interconnectivity too. Therefore, not only are community knit and chat sessions likely to uplift residents’ moods and minds, but they are also likely to uplift your care home rating too!
Reminiscence: reminiscence therapy It is very easy to lose your sense of self when you are removed from your home environment and placed into a clinical space; big moves like this are especially distressing for residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s. To try and reverse these anxious effects, it is essential to try and make your care environment as comfortable and familiar as possible. Reminiscence therapy could be a great place to start. Reminiscence therapy is centred
around conversation, storytelling, and personal memories. In these interactive therapy sessions, residents are encouraged to use photographs and objects to retell and relive some of their most fond memories. Throughout this process, residents can open up about their lives, share their stories and reconnect with their younger selves.
There are lots of ways to support
reminiscence therapy sessions. For example, wall projectors can be used to cast old images and videos onto larger surfaces, helping residents feel more connected to their past. Vintage board games can be used for a nostalgic games’ afternoon while a morning spent making memory boxes filled with precious trinkets and personal items can be used by residents as a reminder. Not only can reminiscence activities
help residents feel connected to themselves, but they can also help them to connect to those around them. For example, residents in your home have likely grown up through the same periods of history - whether that is remembering the Queen’s coronation or watching the first-ever broadcast of Coronation Street – and sitting down and sharing these experiences is likely to bring your residents closer to one another. These growing connections will likely help the sense of community within your home blossom, transforming a once clinical space into a warm home environment.
Getting active: chair yoga Chair yoga is a highly recommended activity for care home environments, as it is effective at boosting the mental
October 2021 •
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
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