It is vital, at this time, to keep residents’ minds and brains stimulated
Residents will suffer loss of stimulation as a result of:
- Losing family visits
- Cancellation of external entertainers
- Cancellation of residents’ outings
- Dramatic reduction of social activities
- Being confined to their bedrooms
At The Daily Sparkle we have been making plans to enhance levels of stimulation in several ways, all of which are focused on residents who stay in their rooms. As a gesture of support, these additional resources are provided free of charge to our subscribers:
- An Activity Bank of quizzes, games, puzzles etc, for those who are capable of doing activities by themselves
- A collection of 1-2-1 activities suitable for enjoying in a small space (bedroom)
- A library of 1-2-1 activities specifically created for people living with late-stage dementia
- Besides the hard copy sent in the post, we will be giving you the monthly magazine as a PDF so you can print them for residents who stay in their rooms
- Permission provided for the home to forward the Daily Sparkles to residents’ relatives so as to encourage enjoyable phone or video calls with loved ones
- Permission provided for residents’ relatives to install the Daily Sparkle app, again to encourage enjoyable phone or video calls with loved ones
Here’s one certain way of providing stimulation for all residents which takes up very little time:
Print off copies of the Daily Sparkle and provide them to each resident in their rooms.
Some residents will be able to read the articles, some will simply enjoy the reminiscence photos, and many will benefit from happy memories of days gone by. With the savings created by no longer having entertainers or outings, the cost of printing is comparatively minimal.
Besides the above, we’d like to encourage all care home staff to be given a Daily Sparkle so that they can engage with residents while going about their work duties. For example, it takes no extra time to chat about an article while tidying the bedroom, or moving a resident from one place to another, or while serving a hot drink. Those small conversations can make a huge difference to how an older person feels about their day.
Providing stimulation to the residents is probably one of the most important things that needs to happen right now. Lack of stimulation can so quickly result in a downward spiral.
Sharing our appreciation and gratitude for all you are doing on the front line. Keep well.
The Daily Sparkle Team