Lindsay home’s reminiscing room fostering enhanced interaction
Calming agitation and bringing back fond memories are room’s greatest assets, says activity aide
Monday November 23, 2009 -- Deron Hamel
LINDSAY, Ont. - Two residents at Caressant Care McLaughlin Road in Lindsay are sitting at a large table in the home’s reminiscing room. With soft music playing in the background, one resident is poring through a book about the Royal Family, and quietly says to a staff member, “There’s the Queen Mum.”

It’s these interactions — initiated by the books, antique kitchen equipment, clocks, jewellry, tools and even a piano, found inside this room that have been its measure of success for the past two years.

“(The room) helps us interact with the residents,” says Melissa Vansickler, an activity aide at the home.

“If some residents (who have a cognitive impairment) looked at themselves in a mirror, they wouldn’t recognize themselves. This room brings them back to what they would remember, the things they would have used, the music they would have listened to and the environment that they would have had in their homes.”

Vansickler says she and other staff members find it easier to interact with residents who have a cognitive impairment because the room’s items were common things for them to own and they bring back important memories for residents.

“If you bring out something like an old egg beater, you can ask them, ‘When was the last time you used one of these?’ and they’ll tell you how they used to cook and bake,” says Vansickler.

“It gives you a jump-off point to start a conversation with residents. It’s easier to interact with people when you have something that’s familiar to them.”

Aside from initiating conversations and bringing back fond memories, the room also has a calming effect on residents who have a cognitive impairment, notes Vansickler.

“We do music therapy in here where we play old songs and sometimes when people are agitated, when they come in here, they are able to calm down and relax and enjoy themselves,” she says.

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