The Importance of Life Story Work in the Role of An Activity Coordinator

The Importance of Life Story Work in the Role of An Activity Coordinator


The importance of life story work is a massive tool that should be used for each resident you work with as an AC.

It is of such importance that it allows you to get to know and understand each person you work with and also it is a wonderful reminiscence tool for the person whose life story book it is, it also testament to the legacy of the life who it represents and a wonderful gift to the family when the person passes on.

As usual it is something  AC's are expected to know about and produce like a rabbit out of a magician hat. 
Often AC's have no training of knowledge of this, hence this  is why I write these blogs to inform you and help  my fellow AC's.

Where to Begin

A life story book is a homemade book complied to capture memories and stories about a person's life.

It is a wonderful way to spend time with a person and compile all their stories together, a valuable tool for fellow care workers who work with the person's whose book it is and even something family and friends can add to and get involved in.

There is no standard format of how to compile it , it should be visibly attractive, filled with pictures and a paragraph or so  describing the story.

I have had the do a number of these books with people and personally find a nice photo album with plastic sticky pages are good. 

It's good to start with a timeline, so initially get a piece of paper and draw a  vertical line in the centre of the paper. On one side write time periods or subjects;childhood,young adulthood,work, hobbies.

On the other write key events and memories such as, place of birth,first school,birth of siblings, getting a job and getting married etc. Use these as indicators as you work your way through each one and compile notes capturing details as you go along.

Remember dates are not always important, the fact a main memory is remembered or event is what is key.

Looking at photographs together can be a great way to get started and help trigger stories about main events.

The use of maps is also good and can be used show a person's life journey of where they were born, to places they lived and visited.

They key is make it an enjoyable experience, it will benefit the residents and increase their self esteem and well being.

Themes

Personal details : place of birth,siblings, family memories, childhood memories,first job,getting married, career,children and significant family events.

Other general themes : places lived in and visited,clothing, hobbies,cars owned, holidays, favourite food and drink, films and favourite books.

Key Points

These are just a few examples, the essence of the exercise is that you work at a pace everyone is happy with, it can take weeks at times.

Be patient.

Remember the book is the property of the it is about and should be taken and passed around with out permission from the owner of the book.

Be a good listener.

Always support the person and respect their wishes.

If you are a member of my online academy you can access the templates  for life story work alternatively use this one http://www.nhsaaa.net/media/224617/lifestory.pdf 

I do hope this has been useful to you. Do you like what I have shared?  Let me know.

 I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. Why don't you take a look and join www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth.

Love,
Ann Marie x

The Butterfly Approach in Dementia Activity Provision

When we work as AC's with the elderly  we must always remember to see the PERSON  with  the dementia and not the person with the DEMENTIA.
The Butterfly Approach is often over looked and we encounter it regularly in our job roles, and interaction with our residents. 
Butterfly moments are fleeting moments of engagement with you. With a 'moment' you can touch a person's life and change a day doing small things.
It makes all the difference to the well being of the resident and  is a bridge you can both meet on to create more butterfly moments.

It's based on a model created by David Sheard in 1995, called Feelings Matter Most.The Feelings Matter Most model centres on eight key components:

BEING person centred involves helping staff to shift their focus from only doing ‘tasks’ to being able to reach people on the inside.

ENABLING quality of life starts with really seeing, hearing, feeling the lived experience of people. This also involves measuring the minute by minute experiences of people and being determined to improve the moment.

 INSPIRING leadership means guiding people away from detached management to a new professionalism of attached leadership. Attached leadership is where people lead from the heart and not just by the hand.

NURTURING staffs emotions in dementia care, recognises the need to support peoples emotional labour. This centers on fostering positive team relationships whilst requiring the development of an emotion led organisational strategy.

GROWING training that works signals a move away from tick-box courses and awareness level competency training. The new focus is on the development of peoples emotional intelligence through reflection, modelling and coaching. 

ACHIEVING real outcomes is all about focusing on policies, procedures and systems as the secondary focus. Balancing and measuring quality of service and quality of life as the primary goal becomes the new focus.

SUPPORTING nurses in dementia care to modernise and to restore compassionate cultures of care is critical. This involves nurses being developed to merge clinical best practice with the new focus of nurses knowing how to lead and personally model person centred care and relationship focused support.

 MATTERING in a dementia care home involves centering on the core skills in staff of Feel, Look, Connect and Occupy whilst creating culture change through developing a community based on Share, Reach, Relax and Matter.


As an AC I do believe in the main part that we naturally do a lot of the above as we have the time in our interaction with our residents but it is a cultural shift in a care home that has to happen .

But if we can focus on the butterfly moments of engagement we encounter, record them and build on them, we will enrich our resident's life for the better. 

Butterfly moments matter! It can be anything from a squeeze of a hand to sharing poignant moments doing a life story book. If you get the minimal engagement , you have had a butterfly moment and have done your  job well. 
I want you to know no matter how small, it all counts to the welfare and well being of the person who expressed it!Record them. 

And those who have now entered the later stages of dementia using  'coma work' , this can help you create butterfly moments with them.
Coma Work  is an approach to working with people in withdrawn states, such as coma to people in later stages of  dementia.The approach requires you to pay particular attention to the non-verbal aspects of a person's communication: their breathing,their eye movement,vocalizations such as repeated noises and the general atmosphere and mood surrounding the person. The key thing is to watch for any signs of any kind of activity from the person with dementia and be led by these rather then taking over and dominating communication themselves.
One lady who cared for her mother did this and found her mother began to speak more.

I do hope this has been useful to you.. Do you like what I have shared?  Let me know.

 I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. Why don't you take a look and join www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth.

Love,
Ann Marie x

How To Get Your Mojo Back

 It happens to all of us. Your going along with your day and then something happens to knock your confidence and can leave you feeling very depleted and close to tears. It can happen in various ways-

Feedback from a supervision. 
Put downs.
Coming back to work  after having a baby. 
Hormones and emotions. 
It all goes horribly wrong. 
Bad CQC Report. 
Lack of participation in your sessions.
Being the target of someone's anger.
Insensitive relatives passing comments.
Colleagues belittling your efforts and work.  

When things go wrong you will feel floored, feel like the wind has been taken out of your sails, you feel flat, inadequate, worthless , want to run away and never show your face again.
 It is natural to feel this way but you need to put things into perspective and know it is not the end of world. 

 Start by being kind to yourself, think of it this way, if someone you love came to you upset how would you treat them? With kindness of course. So you must do the same to yourself as well. 

Quick Remedy List 

Look after you.
Have a cuppa. 
Have some you time. 
You need time to regroup. 
You need time to process. 

Understanding It 

People are always going to be people. Why it went wrong. Why you feel like this. Take the emotion out of it. See it objectively. Don't respond or react until you have processed it all. 

What YOU need to do now- 

 You need to see it for what it is, what is the worse that can happen? 
 I have experienced this scenario when I had to whistle blow it cost me my job at the time, the worse case scenario happened, but guess what?  I survived and thrived. 
And that experience made me who I am today and allows me to share my expertise and experience. I got my mojo back !
 And more importantly the residents who needed proper help got it! I promise you can cope with this.

 Action List 
 Remember who you're doing your work for – your residents. 
Be objective. 
And be kind to yourself- allocate yourself a kindness day just for you. 

Until next time keep shining and remember your worth. Do you like what I have shared?  Let me know and also I have created an online AC Academy that gives you support with all the challenges you face. www.actasticacademy.com.

Don't Be Alone!Come connect with me on FB and be part of my online community of fellow AC's at  www.facebook.com/groups/lovejoycentregroup

Until next time, keep shining.

Love,
Ann Marie x