I walked into the room of my client this week, I expected to spend as much time trying to keep her awake as I did engaged in the activity that I had prepared for her to take part in. As I walked in the room, she was awake, but clearly did not remember me from the week before. I talked with her for just a minute and told her that we were going to do some crafts. She wasn't too thrilled, but did say 'okay.' We started the crafts and she was quickly engaged. It was encouraging to see the change in her demeanour. After we finished the craft, we played tic-tac-toe with some large checkers and a large board. She showed her competitive side as she considered her next move. It was obvious that her cognition had not been challenged to that degree in a while. Toward the end of the session, however, she was doing better with her choice of 'move' and the amount of time that it took her to decide where to move.
Somewhere in the session, this quiet, somewhat sad lady had transformed into a slightly more purposeful, happy version of herself. I found it a very encouraging and rewarding session and wondered what part of the session was most helpful for her. Crafting? Tic-tac-toeing? Socializing? Maybe just a combination of all three. There is lots of evidence out there that cognitive exercise can help the elderly person's outlook and aging experience. Read this to find out more: http://www.mwsearch.com/Games4elderly.html.
This is the perfect example of how we have to learn to not accept "no" for an answer when it's time to do therapy. Many seniors refuse therapy purely out of discouragement or depression and coaxing them to participate can only help them. Glad you persisted!
ReplyDelete