Thanks to a federal government Work for the Dole grant, Advance Community College and its project participants are improving the well-being of some of the community’s most vulnerable people.
As humans we use our senses to interpret, understand and engage with the world. But people with high care needs, such as those living with dementia or another disability, may be unable to fully experience their surroundings. In some cases a person’s ability to perceive the world via their senses diminishes as they age or as their condition deteriorates.
For some people the inability (or lack of opportunity) to sense the world around them, whether through physical deterioration, boredom or lack of stimulation, can have harmful emotional and behavioural consequences.
However activities that strive to stimulate the senses have been shown to have positive and beneficial effects on a person’s quality of life and general well-being. According to the website alzheimers.net sensory stimulation therapies use everyday objects to arouse one or more of the five senses with the goal of evoking positive feelings. This in turn can improve a person’s mood, self-esteem and well-being.
Project supervisor, Sam, and her team of participants, are working to relieve the boredom and cognitive decline experienced by people living with dementia and other disabilities. Through the Hastings Community Contribution Project 2019, the team is producing stimulation materials that are designed to be soothing and that encourage the preservation of motor skills. The materials include sensory blankets, pillows and other ‘fiddle’ items, and incorporate a variety of stimulatory elements, such as different colours and textures, and tactile elements such as beads, ribbons, zips and buttons.
When completed the goods will be donated to aged care and disability services within the local community for the benefit of individuals and residents.
Sam, an experienced aged care worker, said that “distraction therapy is a good way to reduce levels of anxiety and the stimulation of sensory activity, in a safe environment, is known to induce positive emotions”.
She said “The items may offer opportunities to practise fine motor skills such as ribbons to tie up, hooks and eyes to connect, zips to run up and down, beads in a bag to move with the fingers and to hear jangle as they move, changes in colour to catch the eye, different textures to feel, a character or plush toy to pop in and out of a pocket to amuse, surprise and delight”.
“The aim of the materials”, she said, “is to stimulate the senses to help to build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways, creating an opportunity for positive distraction and stimulation for the individual using them.“
Some of the materials have already made their way into the community and are supporting client’s well-being. SomerCare, a residential facility in Somerville, was the first facility to receive completed items. Shelley, from SomerCare’s leisure and well-being unit, described the donated sensory fiddle blankets as “adorable” and said they were very much loved by the residents. She said residents were really engaged when using them and they provided good value.
Currently SomerCare is in discussion with Sam about the creation of a “footy blanket”, which is intended to give residents an opportunity to maintain a long-held interest and arouse pleasant memories of their favourite team.
The project has had positive outcomes for its team members as well. Project participant, Samantha, said that the opportunity to be part of the project had given her a sense of achievement. She said, “It has certainly helped me gain self-confidence in my abilities and tremendous satisfaction from donating to the community, with such positive feedback.”
If you would like to speak to Sam about receiving some sensory items for your local facility, please contact Advance Hastings on 5979 1398.
