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Svenska Then and Now - Creating New Meaningful Relationships
Loss of memory and non-recognition of family members such as children or grandchildren is just as difficult for PwD as it is for family members.
For this reason, it is equally important to work with carers - family members and PwD together. Experts talk about the importance of caregivers creating a "new" relationship with a family member suffering from dementia, because in most cases, ties from the past are lost, which creates a great challenge for all members. The answer to the question "Do you remember?" PwD can't always give. For this reason, it is sometimes important to move away from the past and open the space for the present, to enable communication in other directions, to create new connections in the present time.
The pleasant spaces of museums, archives or libraries are ideal for organising workshops in which PwD and family members can participate. In some museums, the practice of holding such mixed workshops has proven to be extremely successful. During Advent, gingerbread decorating workshops are organised in the Museum of Slavonia, which are gladly visited by grandmothers with grandchildren and/or other family members.
Why is it useful?
Cultivating memory is achieved by talking about the moments that family members lived together, reviewing family heirlooms, nurturing family traditions such as preparing recipes or organising important family events. Even for the youngest members of the family, it is valuable to know the ancestors.
However, what creates unbreakable connections are events in the present. Educational workshops, especially those where you learn about traditions and customs, have a positive effect on mood and bonding between family members.
Social aspect
Educational workshops, especially those where you learn about traditions and customs, have a positive effect on mood and bonding between family members. On this occasion, we can hear how older people describe events from their childhood and thus teach the younger generation about the specialness of the time when they were young. How to prepare holiday cakes, how to celebrate religious holidays, how to make a toy... these are all good topics that we all like to talk about.
Creating a personal timeline can be a useful way to record important information about the person and help others understand and relate to them better. A personal timeline acts as a record of this information and can be shared with others to help them better understand and relate to the person with dementia. Creation of a personal timeline helps PwD share who they are, convey important information about themselves, and help enhance their sense of identity as well as help family members develop a closer bond with the person with dementia, through sharing their stories.
This module describes how we can create present connections based on reminiscing, discussion and handcrafting.
Activities:
1. Creative Writing
Creative writing - writing short stories or poems - especially if people with the initial stages of dementia participate in group activities - contributes to the development of communication skills and a sense of belonging to a group.
Museums, archives, galleries and libraries are particularly inspiring places where works of art or ancient writings can enhance the imagination and have a highly stimulating effect on written creativity.
People with early dementia, regardless of having difficulties with short-term memory, have strong connections with long-term memory and can participate in reading poetry and talking about what they read. PwD have all the freedom in creative expression and writing down their thoughts.
Through creative writing, PwD can invent certain images and be completely imaginative, but they can also recall scenes from their childhood and enclose a part of themselves in a story or poem in a very intimate and warm way.
There are other ways to preserve a written document, a reminder or a poem, and that is recording an audio recording. The audio record enables repeated listening of the record. Almost every mobile device has a built-in application like SoundCloud or a simple voice recorder.
What will we gain?
- Working in pairs or in groups can deepen the sense of connection between caregivers and PwD.
- Reading, conversation and discussion encourages an increase in self-confidence and well-being.
- By participating in these workshops, people with the initial stages of dementia nurture their long-term memory, especially from childhood and youth.
- Caregivers have opportunities to reconnect with PwD without reminiscing about the past. PwDs have a big challenge with the answers to the frequently asked questions "Can you remember?". These situations can further discourage them and make them insecure. However, if the caregiver and PwD invent new topics together through creative writing, then that big gap can be bridged and turned into something fun for both.
ACTIVITY
Download the activity PDF:
Step 1.
Contact a museum, archive, gallery or library near you. Organise a creative writing workshop together for people with early dementia and carers to participate. Ask experts, such as writers or poets, to participate in the workshop.
Step 2.
Provide artwork such as paintings or photographs or personal items that can serve as a source of inspiration for writing. Encourage conversation about the subjects by asking questions.
Encourage PwD to share their thoughts, experiences, but also to fantasise and talk about the scenes they have in their heads.
Step 3.
Write down your thoughts and spoken words on a piece of paper or in a workbook. Let them be the basis for writing short stories or poems.
Step 4.
Ask the participants to read the papers and reflect on what they have written.
What will we need?
- A suitable space for working in a museum, archive, gallery or library.
- Art objects or book material for study or reading.
- Work equipment: chairs and tables, pens and papers
Points for reflection
Socialising together, along with reading, discussing and writing short literary works, strengthens interpersonal ties.
The GLAM sector can offer inexhaustible sources of inspiration - by analysing works of art or reading books.
Through art and creative methods, space is created for self-actualisation and self-realisation of personality. PwD are given the opportunity to express themselves and relax.
Resources
How creative writing could help those with dementia
Arts therapy for people with dementia through poetry and creativity
2. From Hand Embroidery to Christmas Gingerbread
One of the tasks of museums, archives and/or libraries is the organisation of diverse activities in which visitors can participate. The goal of the activity is the development of quality relations with the public, promotion of cultural heritage, transfer of knowledge, etc. Some of the activities may be thematic lectures or workshops. A good curator, librarian or pedagogue knows how to adapt the content of activities to the age of the participants, but there are also events where older and younger generations can participate together. In some museums, during the Easter or Christmas holidays, workshops are organised where elderly people, grandparents, pass on their knowledge or memories of customs and traditions.
This and similar workshops are suitable for the participation of PwD and their family members, especially the youngest generation, for whom nurturing a relationship with an older person in the process of developing dementia can mean a lot.
What will we gain?
- The relationship between the PwDand family members deepens
- The youngest members of the family have opportunities to develop a relationship with a grandparent who is in the initial stages of dementia.
- The understanding of the condition of a PwD is deepened.
- It is easier to accept and monitor the development of the disease.
- PwD are given importance because they can still actively contribute to a good mood.
- Regardless of the memory they have, PwD can actively participate in activities such as decorating gingerbread or some other skill.
ACTIVITY
Download the activity PDF:
From hand embroidery to Christmas Gingerbread.pdf
Step 1
Think about which customs in your area are extremely important and beautiful, and which topic you could use in organising a workshop for mixed ages. If you are not skilled enough yourself, invite external collaborators who can demonstrate a certain technique or skill and transfer the knowledge to others.
Step 2
Allow visitors - caregivers and PwD to talk and, if their memory still serves them well, to share their experiences and memories of family gatherings, food preparation or customs during the holidays (family gatherings, recipes, decorations, etc.)
Step 3
Provide a comfortable space, a place where participants can sit comfortably and talk to each other or get to know each other better. Exhibit the works created by the participants so that the rest of the public can see the results of the workshop, but also to sensitise the public to issues related to dementia and activities that help patients and caregivers.
What will we need?
- A suitable space for working in a museum, archive, gallery or library.
- Work equipment: chairs and tables, workshop material
- Collaboration with local community, or person who knows customs and tradition
Points for reflection
No matter how successfully or unsuccessfully they manage to remember the way they used to spend their days or customs, PwD can always actively participate in the workshop. This is a good way for all participants to be active together, in the present moment regardless of the relationships before it.
Resources
Video: The Museum of Modern Art
Meet Me | Art Discussion Programs for Individuals with Dementia