To Care and Be Cared For : Applying Montessori Methods to Alzheimers Caregiving
On Wednesday, March 6th , 2019 from 10am – 11:30am, we will be making a presentation of the Montessori Alzheimer’s Project principles at the Yakimovich Wellness Centre 1454 Hillside Ave in Victoria, BC. We look forward to engaging with the Caregiving community on Vancouver Island.
For those who are in the Victoria area, please contact the Wellness Centre to register by calling 250-370-5641, press ‘2’ (this is an automated system or by email to WellnessCentreRegistration@viha.ca
When you read our book The Montessori Alzheimer’s Project,you’ll find references throughout it to what we refer to in our full Training Course as “The 3 S’s”. One of the three S’s is “Simplify”. (We’ll discuss the other two in future posts.)
To gain some understanding of the importance of Simplification to someone who has some form of dementia, I want to begin by asking you some questions:
Have you ever entered a gift store, or walked along an aisle in a supermarket, and not been sure where to start? So many products and choices!
· Have you been unable to find what you’re looking for amongst the masses of objects/products that are packed together in the shelves?
· Have you been unable to make a choice because there were so many choices in front of you?
Dr. Montessori recommended that Montessori prepared environments be prepared in a way that creates an orderly, attractive, Simple and navigable space. When this is done, the difficulties described above tend to melt away. It is easy to find a starting point. It’s not at all hard to locate what you’re looking for. Making a choice is a simple matter, rather than an obstacle, because the choices have been purposely limited.
With regard to educational materials, here again Simplification was the order of Montessori’s day. She developed materials that lend themselves to multiple uses, rather than a different item for every individual concept.
Having materials present in an attractive environment set up so that one can easily find whichever of those flexible tools is needed for a particular purpose keeps things Simple. There is no sea of distractions through which one has to wade. No multitude of choices through which one must try to navigate.
The Montessori Alzheimer’s Projecthas adapted this approach of Simplification to the needs of someone who has dementia. It is an important principle in Montessori classrooms, but is even more critical in the prepared environment where a person with dementia is to live and in which they can participate as his/her faculties gradually erode.
Try it and see how small changes in the environment can have a huge positive impact! Our book gives some examples of how you might simplify your home environment, your communications, and engagements with friends/family. You can build on these examples according to what your loved one needs now and as things progress.
This one principle alone will make your life, and the life of your loved one with dementia, smoother and gentler. With that, there is more opportunity for love and joy to be keynotes in your day.
Best wishes from Greg
Welcome To Our Home
Our home may look a bit different that it used to. We have changed it to make our time with __________ joyful and warm. As you know, ______ is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. So, we have changed our home to make our time with ______ joyful and warm. By making these changes in our house, we can support _________ ‘s ability to stay here, happy and safe, to tap good old memories and create positive new ones for family and friends.
Please wear a name tag. ______ may not need it, but it is always helpful and eliminates embarrassment if ____ cannot recall your name when you visit. Please also introduce yourself each time with a smile, say your name and your relationship. A simple Hi ____, it’s _____, your son. It makes for a great start to the visit. If you could wear the same general style of clothing each visit, the familiarity will also engender a feeling of safety and connection.
You will notice several cues in the house, pictures of what is in a cabinet or behind a door. With these cues, ______ has the support needed to stay here at home with us.
Tasks and Games are great things to do together. Here is a list. Of course, just sitting holding hands or walking together is wonderful. We have a manual from the Montessori Alzheimers Program that you can always look through. It has tips for how to walk, talk, play, sing and do all kinds of things together with ______.
While things aren’t quite the same as they were, they don’t have to be all that different. Loving kindness lubricates everything.
Don’t hesitate to ask me for suggestions to make your visits special for both __________ and you. Again, welcome to our home.
歡迎您來到我們的家
我們的家可能看起來有點不尋常. 我們想爲__________作些少改變,讓時間過得愉快和溫暖一点。 ________是患有阿爾茨海默病的早期階段。通過在家裡進行這些改變，我們可以支持他(她) _________令他(她)快樂和安全也留在這家裡，可以有溫暖的回憶，和創造新的記憶。
請戴您的名牌。 ______可能不總是需要它，但總是有幫助的。每次到達時也請介紹一下。笑著說出您的名字和您與他(她)的關係。一個簡單的“嗨____，我是_____，您的______” 是所有需要的。它給了_____一個明確的參考點，並使您的訪問成為一個很好的開始。
您會注意到房子裡有幾個線索：櫥櫃裡面是什麼（如杯和碟）或門後面（洗手間）的圖片。有了這些線索，______得到了我們的的支持可以安心和放心的留在家裡。
雜務和遊戲是一起做的事務。以下是我們一起喜歡的事務清單__________________________（例如：玩紙牌遊戲，園藝，聽歌和唱歌，一起看相冊）。當然，只是齊齊坐, 漫步行，走在一起,也是很美好的。
我們還有蒙特梭利阿爾茨海默病計劃的手冊，您可以隨時查看與______一起走路，談話，玩耍，唱歌和做各種事情的提示。
雖然每一個案未必是一樣的，但每每有共通,相似的地方。有一個共性, 就是恆久的愛和感情是最重要的。請記住，良善心是每一個難題的最好的潤滑劑.
請不要猶豫，给我提供建議，讓您的訪問特別是為__________和您。再次歡迎來到我們家。
We are delighted to announce the release of our new book, The Montessori Alzheimer’s Project. It is available on Amazon in both ebook and hardcopy. The direct link in https://www.amazon.com/dp/
The ebook version is available through iBooks, Barnes and Noble and other ebook retailers. The link for those is at https://www.books2read.com/
We are available for scheduling seminars focused on both family and professional caregivers, providing training for implementing Montessori principles in different caregiving environments. If you are interested in hosting or participating in such a seminar, please contact us. We are planning our first webinar for Spring of 2019, to provide outreach wherever the internet is available.
We also invite and look forward to feedback on the book.
With best wishes,
Lyle, Greg and Riza