How OTs can help educate about visiting loved ones with dementia - 0 views

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  #1 beihlt on 14 Nov 15

   

  For this blog post, I want to concentrate on how we, as future OTs, can help educate family and friends on how to plan a successful visit to a loved one living with dementia. When visiting a person with dementia, it is important for family and friends to approach the time spent together differently than they are used to doing. Some ideas that we can offer family, friends, and caregivers include planning visits that are beneficial for both your loved one and yourself, staying calm during visits, keeping eye contact and calling them by name, visiting as frequently as possible, and planning a visit around a theme.
  
  Since many people with dementia often have difficulty initiating an activity, the person visiting them will need to prepare in advance to make the visit a successful and enjoyable one. Some themes OTs can suggest to visitors are music visits, celebrating the person visits, faith or spirituality visits, table talk visits, touch visits, active living visits, and pet visits. Music visits can involve bringing music associated with holidays and special events and engaging in a sing along. Celebrating the person visits can involve items related to the person's past work, hobbies, or community service. Faith or spirituality visits may include taking inspirational books or objects with spiritual importance. Table talk visits may involve taking in muffins, coffee, and a newspaper and discussing current events or simply talking about family news. Touch visits may include aromatherapy and giving massages to help create a relaxing atmosphere. Active living visits may include going for a walk, gardening, or engaging in a craft project. Pet visits can include bringing in the persons favorite animal and allowing them time to spend with it.
  
  In addition, it is important to educate family and friends about ending a visit with a loved one experiencing the condition. It is often difficult to end a visit as many times the person may become upset or ask to leave with you. One suggestion OTs can offer is taking them to a group activity and slipping out when they are actively engaged and enjoying it. Another suggestion may include visiting prior to mealtime to refocus them to a part of their daily routine or even asking a staff member to sit with them for a few minutes after you leave.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">For this blog post, I want to concentrate on how we, as future OTs, can help educate family and friends on how to plan a successful visit to a loved one living with dementia. When visiting a person with dementia, it is important for family and friends to approach the time spent together differently than they are used to doing. Some ideas that we can offer family, friends, and caregivers include planning visits that are beneficial for both your loved one and yourself, staying calm during visits, keeping eye contact and calling them by name, visiting as frequently as possible, and planning a visit around a theme. <br /> <br /> Since many people with dementia often have difficulty initiating an activity, the person visiting them will need to prepare in advance to make the visit a successful and enjoyable one. Some themes OTs can suggest to visitors are music visits, celebrating the person visits, faith or spirituality visits, table talk visits, touch visits, active living visits, and pet visits. Music visits can involve bringing music associated with holidays and special events and engaging in a sing along. Celebrating the person visits can involve items related to the person's past work, hobbies, or community service. Faith or spirituality visits may include taking inspirational books or objects with spiritual importance. Table talk visits may involve taking in muffins, coffee, and a newspaper and discussing current events or simply talking about family news. Touch visits may include aromatherapy and giving massages to help create a relaxing atmosphere. Active living visits may include going for a walk, gardening, or engaging in a craft project. Pet visits can include bringing in the persons favorite animal and allowing them time to spend with it. <br /> <br /> In addition, it is important to educate family and friends about ending a visit with a loved one experiencing the condition. It is often difficult to end a visit as many times the person may become upset or ask to leave with you. One suggestion OTs can offer is taking them to a group activity and slipping out when they are actively engaged and enjoying it. Another suggestion may include visiting prior to mealtime to refocus them to a part of their daily routine or even asking a staff member to sit with them for a few minutes after you leave.</div>

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