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Elderly Rehabilitation
Activity
& The Elderly Engaging
.... in Activities
The
aim of the rehabilitation programs is to restore the client to his/her
maximal functional ability and as far as possible, to help the client
to slow down the rate of any functional deterioration.
The
programs are supervised by 33 volunteer professional doctors, and
encompass both individualized and group rehabilitative programs.
A residential
medical officer, in collaboration with medical specialists in the
fields of geriatric psycho-geriatric, orthopaedic and cardiology
ensure the medical needs of all residents are met. Volunteer Dentists
and dental technicians also provide dental and oral hygiene care
to clients.
Clients
of Ling Kwang Home also receive specialist physiotherapy treatment
in the new and spacious physiotherapy atrium ( Insert photo). Occupational
therapists also conduct speech therapy, as well as working with
those clients who have difficulty swallowing and eating. Dietician
works closely with kitchen and nursing staff to ensure all clients
receive a balanced and nutritious diet.
Wellness
therapy butterfly enclosures, as well as music therapy and reminiscence
areas have also been recently added to the home, and is hoped to
assist in the overall happiness and well being of the client.
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| Activity
& The Elderly - by
Mah Yong Kim (Occupational Therapist) |
| Meaningful
Activity |
1) Human
beings define their lives, cultures, values, and self worthiness through
activities. If the activity has meaning for the individual, it will
encourage the continuous participation.
2) All meaningful activities have potential to heal the
mind and the body.
3) Positive feedback from others will increase the feeling
of competency of the doer.
4) Patients are often attracted to familiar activities,
however, newly acquired disabilities could prevent patients from performing
up to former standards.
5) In certain cases, teaching the patients new activities
can be a better way to enhance self confidence and develop new skills.
6) In most cases, selection of activities should be a decision
made between patient and staff.
7) Some activities are too demanding for patients to complete,
staff need to analyse the activity to identify parts of activity that
the patient could engage so as to increase their valuable input.
8) Contributing to a task that is larger than one can complete
alone can be meaningful beyond measure, as long as one values the
contribution to the effort.
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| Elderly
& Activity |
1) Elderly
generally have decreased activity routine and role of responsibility.
2) Sense of worthiness attached to various roles reduced
according to decreasing activity level.
3) Familiar activities often help the elderly to relate
to previous experiences.
4) There are pros and cons to engaging the elderly in familiar
activities: |
| Pros |
Cons |
| Recall
old experiences |
Increase awareness of time changes |
| Regain
old skills |
Evoke
emotional stress |
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Regain
self confidence
|
Increase
awareness of decreasing physical condition |
5) It
is important to help monitor the level of skills of an elderly in
order to provide a 'failure free' activity.
6) To encourage optimal participation of the elderly, it
is wise to check with the elderly the kind of activities that he/she
likes.
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| Engaging
the Elderly in Activities |
1) Objectives
for engaging the elderly in activities
* to increase awareness to physical
environment
* to provide sensory stimulation &
enhance the responses
* to provide opportunity to socialize
with others
* to enhance psychological sense of
being (self confidence, worthiness, usefulness)
* to facilitate adaptation to institutionalize
environment
* to increase participation in ADLs
& reduce dependency
* to encourage relearning of old skills
* to encourage learning of new skills
* to reduce purposeless behaviours (wandering,
aggression etc)
2) Selecting the appropriate activities
*Age appropriate
* Cultural relevance - language, environment
* Context relevance - time & place
* Meeting the objective(s)
3) Matching the activity with individual status
* Physical status - vision, hand/leg
function, postural function, verbal etc
* Mental/cognitive status
* Medication
4) Preparation work
* Location
* Setting
* Materials
* Participants
* Staff/ Assistant
5) Conducting the activity
* Staff to introduce self and/or assistants
* Invite patients to introduce themselves
* Introduce end product(s)
* Encourage participation (verbal persuasion
& physical guidance/demonstration)
* Allow choice while continue to 'involve'
the elderly
* Provide physical assistance to start
(if necessary)
* Provide continuous verbal encouragement
throughout the session
* Provide physical assistance to complete
product if necessary
6) Closing the activity
* Ensure proper finishing (i.e., time
constraints or other factors)
* Provide information on next session
(follow up)
* Provide appropriate appreciation
(verbal or physical token) |
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