"Living and Celebrating Life Through Leisure" Research and By Us For Us Guide

At the Activity Professionals of Ontario (APO) 2012 Annual Convention in London (October 17-19), members of the Living Life Through Leisure (L3) team, Jessica Luh Kim from MAREP and Karen Megson-Dowling from Sunnybrook Hospital, shared with attendees the research that the team has been engaged in since 2008/2009. 

The L3 team is composed of a group of diverse stakeholders including persons living with dementia, family partners in care, professionals working in the dementia care or recreation field, and researchers, to critically examine how we understand leisure within the dementia context and to create an alternative understanding that would be rooted in the perspectives of persons living with dementia (the "real" experts).

Attendees, mainly Activation and Recreation Professionals working in the community (e.g., day programs, hospitals, retirement homes) and long-term care sector, learned that for many people living with dementia, leisure was a space to experience life despite a diagnosis of dementia.  In fact, people with dementia prefer professionals to stop focusing on the illness and/or disability, but instead support them in living and celebrating life to the fullest through leisure. 

Through leisure, persons with dementia found opportunities to:

• be me
• be with
• seek freedom
• find balance
• make a difference
• grow and develop
• and have fun!

In a recent presentation by Dr. Allen Power, M.D. (inset) at the Allies in Aging Conference (October 18th, 2012) in Kitchener, Ontario, Dr. Power, an Eden Alternative Educator and the author of "Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care", discussed how these 7 leisure experiences were very similar to The Eden Alternative's seven Domains of Well-Being which include:

• identity
• growth
• autonomy
• security
• connectedness
• meaning
• joy

Attendees at both conferences, APO and Allies in Aging, were challenged to move away from the biomedical approach to dementia and to shift towards a new culture of care where meaningful experiences and well-being are at the forefront of care.

For more information about the By Us For Us Guide - "Living and Celebrating Life Through Leisure", please visit the MAREP website at www.marep.uwaterloo.ca (under educational tools).

Making Time for Fun.

Sometimes, in the midst of our busy weeks, we all need to make time for a bit of fun.

This week, some of the MAREP team met after work for an evening of Go-Karting. What a great way to connect and build relationships with staff!

How do you unwind, on your own or as a team?

Here are some strategies for coping with caregiver stress and some tips for engaging in leisure with a loved one with ADRD.

Take care of yourselves!

Study: iPod helps persons with dementia

CBC News (New Brunswick) reported on research from the Atlantic Institute on Aging that is exploring "how using personalized music can help bring back memories and make emotional connections" (Para. 2). The article notes how three nursing homes in New Brunswick are piloting the usage of iPods as a "painless, drug-free way to reactivate the brains of people with Alzheimer's, dementia and other neurological conditions" (Para. 1). Researchers discovered that personalised music stimulates and reactivates the brain and can "be used to improve a wide range of neurological conditions, including dementia, depression, anxiety, strokes and Parkinson's" (Para. 4). Read more at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/05/11/nb-ipod-pilot-nursing-dementia.html

Ontario Seniors Care Strategy

The McGuinty Government is moving forward with a seniors care strategy which will enable older adults to live healthy and longer at home.  The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care posted a news release yesterday, entitled 'Ontario Helping More Seniors Live At Home Longer',  which outlined the new strategy:

• Expansion of doctor’s house calls
• Increase in access to home care for seniors in need
• Establishing care co-ordinators to work with health care providers so seniors receive the right care, particularly as they recover from a hospital stay
• Allowing seniors to adapt their home to meet their needs as they age with the assistance of the Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit
• Helping seniors stay healthy by eating well and exercising regularly so they can manage their own care and stay mobile (Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, 2012, Para. 2)

As stated in the article:

The Seniors Care Strategy will help our seniors get the right care, at the right time and in the right place – which for many seniors is at home, where they want to be. Ontario will benefit greatly from Dr. Sinha’s advice on how to develop and implement this strategy. (Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care)

Happy Weekend!

It might be Friday the 13th, but with all of the sunshine out there, it feels like our lucky day!

Enjoy this collection of great reads from around the web as you wind down this weekend:

The Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan provides an opportunity for people with dementia and their partners in care to reconnect through art. (This reminds me of Gather at the Gallery, a program that our Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Lisa Meschino, is involved with).

What an interesting and creative campaign for Alzheimer's awareness. What do you think?

In Canada, dementia will directly affect 1.1 million people in less than 25 years. The rising economic cost of the disease will increase tenfold to a staggering $153 billion per year. Why doesn't Canada have a national dementia plan? The Alzheimer Society is encouraging you to add your voice to the discussion here.

A lovely video that reminds us of the powerful impact that music can have on quality of life (you can also read about it here).

(Images from top: New York Times; Alzheimer Society of Canada; The Stir)

Happy (belated) New Year!

Well, here we are, almost two weeks into 2012 (time flies when you're having fun!).

In the spirit of new year's resolutions, I would like to share this article about seven health risks that may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's Disease.

Regardless of our age, we can all focus on a happier, healthier lifestyle in 2012.

Via NutriHealth

All the best for the new year (and the upcoming weekend).

Here are some interesting bites from around the web:

Is it normal age-related memory loss or something more serious? This article helps you make decisions about when to get help for your loved ones.

A quick and easy applesauce bread recipe that packs a nutritional punch.

Get a glimpse of living life with dementia through Twitter. The tweets are based on the journal of Jim Mann, diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease at the age of 58, and will be shared throughout January. To learn more, follow @AlzheimerBC or search the #injimshoes hashtag.