By
Diane Guthrie
Preschool staff presents options to a student to redirect them
to another choice when they exhibit undesirable behavior rather
than just saying, “No.” They see caregivers doing this with the
Alzheimer’s residents too.
During a two-hour spa activity Dotty Davis-Walsh, Life
Enrichment Director, has residents soak their hands in a
see-through plastic container of warm, soapy water. Rocks and
shells lie on the bottom to encourage exploration and longer
soaking. Parents of a preschooler use a similar method of
placing bath toys in a bathtub to encourage children to extend
their soaking time.
The spa activity is disturbed when Bill W., a resident, enters
the room. “Get these people out of here,” he says. He thinks
that the table that they are sitting around is his. Davis-Walsh
asks a caregiver to direct him out and tell him that she needs
five minutes to clear the table.
Davis-Walsh uses redirection to interrupt unwanted behavior.
Sometimes she emulates what a parent might do–offer food to
entice a change of behavior. She keeps three dozen donut holes
– chocolate and glazed – on hand. “If you promise coffee and
donuts you better deliver,” she says.
For the noon meal, the preschoolers eat first at the child-sized
table. They are served the same food that the residents are.
While they are eating, residents get seated and a nurse
dispenses medication to them prior to their meal.
Caregivers offer to help residents that are unable to cut their
food. Several residents wear towel-sized bibs. “This is called
a shirt-saver and I’ve got it on,” says Arlene, pointing at her
bib.
When residents get up to
leave their table, those that use walkers search for theirs.
Arlene attempts to take another person’s walker. Diana Warren,
a caregiver, intervenes. “This is Juanita’s. Yours is green;
hers is blue.” Warren playfully refers to the walkers as
automobiles. Arlene’s is new and fancy and she calls it a
“Cadillac.” To a resident nearby she refers to his as a “Ford
truck.”
In the early afternoon, the
preschoolers sleep on mats on the floor of their room. The room
has windows on three sides so during naptime, shades are pulled
down to darken it. The rest of the time, the shades are up and
people can observe the children through the windows. Residents
notice when the children are gone. During the week the
Preschool had off for the Christmas holiday, residents kept
asking caregivers where the children were.
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