Our story this month was submitted by a wonderful family caregiver named Pat who was helping her mom settle into her new care home. On this day she was moving boxes with a dolly when she was stopped by a sweet old lady who lived there, who asked her, “Could you help me please? Do you know when the train leaves?”
An Example Of Therapeutic Reasoning
When the train leaves? Pat wondered if she heard the lady correctly. As it was close to lunchtime, she thought perhaps she had heard wrongly. Perhaps the lady was asking when lunch is. To her puzzled look, the lady went on, “North Bay is a big train town.” Nope, she had heard right; the lady wanted to know when the train was leaving. So quickly she understood that the woman had dementia, and Pat went into HER reality and said, “I just got these things off the last train today, but I am sure there will be another one tomorrow. Why don’t you go ask at the office?” (Therapeutic Reasoning™)
A few minutes later Pat heard the staff in the “office” (the nurse at the nurse’s station) say to the lady, “I am pretty sure the station is closed for today, but I will call them in the morning to find out what time the trains leave. Let me find out and I’ll tell you tomorrow.” Off the lady went, content and happy in her quest.
Later in the day, Wayne, a young maintenance guy who had finished his work for the day. Now in street clothes, was saying his goodbyes to the residents he knew. Wayne was approached by an elderly man with with Alzheimer. He was asking about his restaurant bill. It was wonderful to hear Wayne say, “It is OK, Mr. Smith, I’ve checked your tab and everything is OK. Your bill has been settled. When I see that your account is getting low, I’ll let you know. OK?” (More Therapeutic Reasoning™) The resident was pleased, and now was not concerned, and Wayne went on his way to greet other residents as he left.
A Strategy That Works
In the words of my client Pat, “this is EXACTLY what is supposed to happen as per your book ‘Cracking the Dementia Code’ and other lessons!” What surprised her was hearing this exchange twice in one day including from the maintenance person, too! “This is the kind of training everyone needs. It is exactly the culture we need to create, not only for facilities, but also for the world.” I was impressed with Pat’s excitement as she wrote me to tell me the stories. As more dementia education becomes available. We hope to see more staff in care homes practice these ideal approached/techniques to better support those affected by dementia. Please feel free to tell me your stories so that I may be able to share them with others to help enhance learning and our creative minds. Email us at [email protected]
Karen 🙂
Karen Tyrell, CDP, CPCA
Personalized Dementia Solutions
www.DementiaSolutions.ca
