Reminiscing
The 20th Century has seen the most dramatic impact on our everyday life. There have been more changes to how we live than during any other age in history.
Reminiscing - the recalling of past events in one's life - is an extremely powerful tool that can have quite remarkable effects, especially for those suffering memory loss such as dementia.
Reminiscing not only brings back memories of people and places from another time, but also evokes the emotions associated with them.
Reminiscing can be an enabling, empowering and liberating experience and many powerful benefits have been documented:
- improved morale and increased self-esteem
- greater satisfaction and meaning in life
- decreased depression, reduced stress and less need for medication
- friendships developed
- renewed interest in previous activities and pursuits
- past issues resolved
- more able to cope with change and ageing
There are many cases of people who have begun talking again, after they haven't spoken for months. A US study involved a group of 70 year olds who were asked to dress and live in a nostalgic setting just like they’d done in the 1950's. They were photographed at the beginning of the study; after three days; and then ten days later. When the photos were compared, by the end of the study everyone in the group looked twenty years younger!
"I Remember That!" Aged Care Reminiscing Resources are designed for carers and therapists either on a one-to-one basis or with groups in Aged Care facilities or at home.
The DVDs, A5 Cue Cards and A2 Wall Prints aim to bring back memories of everyday living – often of things that have long since disappeared from daily life. The images are of a universal nature, appealing to people from the city and country - and even people from overseas.
"I Remember That!" DVD Volumes 1 & 2 come in two different versions - Full Commentary or (Dementia specific) Part Commentary to cater for different levels of cognitive function. The Full Commentary is appropriate for people in early to middle stages of Dementia - the Part Commentary is for advanced stages. Pictorially, both are identical, but the Part Commentary version has only approximately fifty per cent commentary.
Reminiscing is different for all of us so naturally “I Remember That!” will touch everyone individually in different ways.
The Carer’s Manual/Kit supplied with the DVDs and A5 Cards has easy-to-follow Guidelines to assist you to achieve the best results in a Reminiscing session using "I Remember That!" You’ll agree with leading Aged Care experts that “reminiscing is probably the most valuable tool we have to treat people with memory loss”.
