Editorial
Residents with cognitive impairment benefit from programs
Friday August 24, 2007
Residents with cognitive impairment make up a large component of any long-term care home. These residents require a lot of time from life enrichment staff, especially one-to-one time.

In recognizing the special needs residents with cognitive impairment have, staff creates several sensory programs for these residents – massage therapy, activities involving photographs for reminiscing purposes, and simple craftwork are some mainstays.

Residents with cognitive impairment also require programs which are short, say life enrichment co-ordinators (LECs). Shorter programs reduce the chance of over-stimulation, which can lead to behaviours in residents with cognitive impairment.

The biggest challenge to creating programming for residents with cognitive impairment is lack of time, say LECs.

"Many of the programs that you need to do for residents who are cognitively impaired require a lot of one-to-one time, or very small-group time," says Darlene Thibault, LEC at Almonte Country Haven.

Because many residents with cognitive impairment find it difficult to be in loud or cluttered areas of a long-term care home, small-group and one-to-one programs are essential for these residents.

Frost Manor in Lindsay has found its breakfast club to be a big success. The breakfast club consists of four residents who, on a rotating basis, are brought to the dining area of the home for a morning meal served on fine china.

Residents in the program usually have a smile on their face for much of the meal.

"I think (it works) because it’s a small group," says Vi O’Leary, LEC at Frost Manor. "It’s quiet and it’s one-on-one – you just concentrate on these four people."

Activity programming plays a large role in developing self-esteem in residents with cognitive impairment. As such, activity staff needs to measure the level of ability in each resident before starting a new program with them.

"First and foremost, when I’m creating a program I want to make sure it’s failure-free," says Denise Ansell, LEC at Streamway Villa in Cobourg. "You don’t want to take a resident and put them in front of something that they’re going to fail miserably at."

Volunteers play a huge role in allowing staff to cognitive impairment. When volunteers spend time with residents who are cognitively well, it increases the amount of time staff needs to spend with the residents who require the most attention.

"(Volunteers) allow us to provide the one-on-ones," says Karen Coulter, life enrichment supervisor at Pleasant Meadow Manor in Norwood.