Storied Lives in Dementia Care
Storied Lives in dementia care began in 2013, as a partnership between myself (Christine) and the staff at Carefor Health & Community Services Carling Day Program in Ottawa. I was keen to explore whether life story work, combined with interactive arts, might offer people living with dementia some new ways to engage with their community. I also hoped to learn from the program's recognized expertise in person-centred dementia care.
Over three years, this working partnership developed in spectacular ways. In a short space of time, the entire staff team and many volunteers were working together to record, share and celebrate the lives and identities of program participants living with dementia. As confidence grew, we began to invite families to our life story celebrations and this then led to a 12-week program specifically for families impacted by dementia in 2015-2016. See Past Projects →
The success of this partnership is largely due to the openness and enthusiasm of the staff team, families and program participants at Carling Day Program, and more latterly at Perley-Rideau Day Program. Their collaborative spirit and willingness to try something new made all the difference, and I especially wish to thank the team leader at Carling Day Program, Cheryl Conway, for her creativity, vision and encouragement during our three year collaboration.
What we learned:
- People living with dementia want very much to feel included, to connect with the people around them, and to interact socially.
- We can all play a role in making this happen.
- When we combine verbal communication with non-verbal methods of communication - involving multiple forms of expression (drama, dance, visual arts, music) - we make it easier for people living with dementia to follow and contribute their own thoughts, feelings and personal stories.
- Connecting lives through stories and the arts, in this way, creates relationship and community.
- This, in turn, enriches all our lives.
The people you will see on the pages of this site have all been participants in life story work at one time or another. They agreed to share their experiences in pictures and in words so that other families, organizations and members of the general public might learn about creative life story work and its benefits.
On-site Resources:
In A Creative Approach to Communication I suggest some fun ways to enable people living with dementia to tell and share their stories. Get started by downloading the Communication Tips for Partners-in-Care PDF on that page.
I'll be sharing on-going reflections and ideas about creative life story work with and for individuals, groups and communities in the Storied Lives Blog. Sign up to receive future posts.