Cathy Cress

Expert in Aging Life and Geriatric Care Management

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How Can Reminiscence Give an Elder With Dementia a Happier Labor Day?

August 30, 2021

 

 

Even Elders with Dementia can Find New Joy with Reminiscence

Holidays are perfect for reminiscence or bringing back memories for someone who has dementia. Labor Day wascelebrated by them as a child.They may be able recall walking back to the first day of school , buying school supplies, or the taste of late summer tomatoes on hamburgers or ice cream at Labor Day barbecues with family.When an elderly person develops Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, the short-term memory is frequently affected .But long-term memories , like childhood Labor Day memories ,can remain as intact and as vivid as they have always been during the course of the client’s  life.  As a result  healthcare professionals and family can use a practice called reminiscence therapy to help combat the frustration, confusion, and depression that can often accompany dementia and even bring joy to the older person.

What is Reminiscence ?

 Reminiscence happens when an older person spends time recalling memories of his or her life. If they suffer from dementia this can still happen. This Labor Day by asking, elders who were kids in the 40’s , 50’s &60’s ,about how they celebrated Labor Day in that era, prompts them to recall with their long term memory that is often still intact.

Care managers and senior professionals can coach family to use photos, familiar objects, or other items to help jog the memory of the elder. Families can get out scrapbooks of a person’s life, including  old photos, letters, and other such personal memorabilia.If you have old family movies, or DVD’s that  can evoke good recall. This becomes a  visual biography of the elder’s  life and helps him or her remember who he or she is.Plus actually interacting or spending time and talking to and listening to older friends and family , who are often isolated and very lonely, can bring real  joy to their lives. 

How Does Quality of Life Therapy Help Any Older Person?

Almost all elderly men and women can feel deeply discouraged and frustrated with  memory issues. Reminiscence can give peace and acceptance of the current situation by helping the person remember times when he or she has had a good and full life. It also prompts the communication skills of elderly people who otherwise may not feel very compelled to open up and share anything with anyone else.

HOW DOES REMINISCENCE THERAPY HELP DEMENTIA

Using reminiscence therapy techniques can give the confused elder a richer quality of life by giving them with time with other people who will actually listen to them.  Through this, a dementia patient is made to feel their thoughts and feelings actually matter. To someone who has an elderly loved one suffering from dementia, this benefit alone can make reminiscence therapy a form of joy.

There is even an app called Grey Matters, which caregivers and care managers can look into for reminiscence therapy for elders with dementia. If the senior is a BBC fan, like me, the BBC even has an app called RemArc  to help dementia sufferers with reminiscence using old clips from the BBC. You can see in the future an app that has clips from Star Wars for present baby boomers or generations after that.

Books to Help You Open Your Own Program

Geriatric Care Manager Nina Herndon is the pioneer of adding reminiscence therapy to geriatric care management. She authored the chapter Quality of Life in Handbook of Geriatric Care Management .

Nina also created a book on quality of life activities you can use in your work and program called Joyful Moments 

 

 

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Filed Under: Aging Family, aging life care manager, Blog, Geriatric Care Management Business, Geriatric Care Manager, geriatric social worker, Holiday Rituals in Aging Family, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Quality of Life, Quality of Life for elders, Quality of Life with Dementia, Reminiscence Therapy Tagged With: aging family, aging life care manager, aging life or geriatric care manager, aging parent care, care manager, case manager, geriatric care manager, Labor Day & Reminicance, Labor Day barbecue, nurse advocate, nurse care manager, Reminicence & 4th of July, Reminicence and Dementia, Reminicence and geriatric care manager, Reminicence Therapy, Reminiscence on the Holidays, stress free Labor Day, team planning for Labor Day

Ten Tips to Make Sibling Labor Day Barbecue Stress Free

August 29, 2012

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Are your midlife siblings the coming to a Labor Day barbecue? Rituals like Labor Day are events to be enjoyed by midlife siblings and their families- not dreaded.

Here are ten tips to keep the sibling celebration stress free without midlife sibling drama and make it a midlife sibling team effort.

1) Remember that it is a family gathering and it is not all about you. Keep a positive attitude for the sake of your midlife siblings, aging parents, if they are there, your own young kids who will model sibling behavior from you -their parent-

in the way you interact with their aunts and uncles.

 

2) Call e-mail or facebook everyone ahead of time. Invite them and ask everyone to bring a dish to share. That is the beginning of building a sibling family team- sharing food. Call every midlife sibling and family member. Do not exclude. Again to build a team effort.

3) Attempt to get all your midlife siblings to plan activities ahead and jointly work to make them happen-with a sibling team spirit. Think of softball games, horseshoes, and a treasure hunt, anything that everyone can have joint ideas about beforehand. Use facebook to do this- hopefully all your siblings are your facebook friends.

4) Call or e mail ahead and arrange to split the bill for beverages like alcohol and soft drinks, again s sibling team effort

5) If you have nieces and nephew from your midlife siblings plan events for the kids jointly among your midlife siblings, ahead of time. Again, call visit or use facebook to do this but make it a team effort to make all you’re your nieces and nephews and your kids have fun.

6) Share jobs- setting up tables, bringing in equipment for sports or games, lawn chairs- especially ‘manning” the barbecue. (Sisters can cook) Share it and don’t let anyone be top dog –be the chosen chef, unless everyone is fine with that.

7) It is a party not a sibling family meeting. If you want to talk about personal issues, make a date in the future to get together with your angry sister/brother.

8) Share jobs gender wise among your midlife siblings. Men can cook too and women are now fireman and astronauts. Sisters can and do- move equipment and haul tables.

9) Don’t make this a family meeting where old sibling grudges get hashed out. Celebrations are just that. If someone pushes your button, keep that angry response to yourself and maybe arrange a future sibling family meeting and look into a geriatric care manager

 

10) Have fun with your midlife siblings. You have 50 years more to enjoy the longest deepest relationship of your life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Aging Tagged With: aging family, blaming familiy members, Cathy Jo Cress, Celebration, family meeting, favorite sibling, Labor Day barbecue, legal sibling, manning the barbecue, midlife sibling team, midlife siblings, Mom Loves You Bes Forgiving and Forging Sibling Relationships, planning joint activities, red flags for a family meeting, siblings, stress free Labor Day, summer sibling rivalry, team planning for Labor Day

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