Guest Mel Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 My administrator gave me 21 additional hours for my aides this coming year. The catch is that I need to do more low sensory activities. I'm stuck, I need at least one a day hopefully two. Here's what I have thus far: Wheel Chair Dancing Story Time Poetry Reading Props Story Telling Sweet Scents Wheel Chair Patio Tours (Weather Permitting) Any other ideas? Thanks!!! [/font] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandyatscr 0 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 How low functioning are you talking about? Our low functioning residents are basically to the stage that their only responses is limited eye contact and maybe an occasional sound, mumble, etc. What we do with these residents is soft music, lotion to their hands, different scents in the room, sing-a-longs, rhythm band to listen to music they would have sang in childhood. For our middle functioning residents along with the low functioning activities we do easy games like: Beat the dice, horse racing, book club where we read the story and ask questions appropriate to the person, adaptive bowling with lots of encouragement, ring toss, floor toss, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest veronica spalding Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 We have a fairly large population of eye contact only residents. In addition to hand,arm and head massages we do range of motion with them (as permitted by care plans) while playing music. We have also experimented with- various success levels- different types of music for different times of the day. Sousa's marches while moving to and from dining room, Vivaldi's four seasons and similar music during meals and Brahms lullabye and other very gentle music at bed times. I have "decorated" our day area for these residents with hanging mobiles made of crystal and other shiny materials and have observed many of them looking at them and smiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennie 26 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 maybe these will be useful or can be adapted tofit your needs Basketball: Even very confused residents can enjoy bucketball. Use a large cardboard container or a plastic wastebasket, weighted down in the bottom, & encourage residents to throw the ball in to it. Cheer them when they make it, encourage them when they don't. You can take this to bedside residents & hold the up so they can try to shoot. Bean Bag Toss: Gather several boxes & label them with numbers. Place these at different distances from the residents. Let the resident toss bean bags into them, giving them points for the ones they get the bag in. Cheer them on Button, Button: Fill a large clear plastic peanut butter jar with buttons of all colors, shapes & sizes. Ladies may respond more to this than men. Empty some buttons out on the table or bed tray & let resident's sort through them. Ask them to notice the many different kinds. Notice that some sparkle, are square, colors etc. Ask how many red ones they can find. Guess how many are in the jar. Ask if they remember collecting mussels to sell to button factories. Ask them to find the biggest buttons. Ask them if they ever sewed & attached buttons. Clay: Rolling clay & shaping it can be great exercise for stiff fingers as well as fun. Work with residents individually or with a small group gathered around a table. Clay seems to be less messy though a little stiffer than play dough. You can buy clay in the toy section of the store. Coloring: Many residents - alert, confused, or mentally retarded -- like to color. Sit down with them; you color one page of the coloring book while they color the opposite page. That way, they will fell less alone in doing activity children enjoy. Nuts & Bolts: Bring a small plastic toolbox to a bedside that has been filled with various sizes of nuts, bolts, & washers. This works well with men who have been mechanics or worked with their hands using tools. Let them examine the box & put the nuts & washers on the bolts. Perhaps you can have a small block of wood enclosed in the box that has holes drilled in it so residents can fit the bolts through & secure them. Even confused residents would enjoy this one. Sorting: Fill a box with bolts, nuts & washers, all together. Ask them to separate these into 3 jars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest garcia Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 I work in a small facility with only 38 residents we have a varity of functions but with the eye contact no respones I use passive range of motion, music with head phones, chit chat (even though they cannot talk back, book reading, massages, and books with pictures or magazines sometimes family photos hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 fOR VERY LOW FUNCTION RESIDENTS: WITH THE NEW TAG248 AND249 PERSON ORIENTED ACTIVITIES YOU CAN GO TO THE CHART AND FAMILY AND FIND OUT ALL YOU CAN ABOUT THE RESIDENT. iF THEY HAD COFFEE OR TEA AT A CERTAIN TIME OF DAY GIVE THEM A LITTLE ON THEIR TONGUE OR THICKEN IT AT THAT TIME OF DAY. PLEASE DON'T SET THEM IN FRONT OF THE TV AND LEAVE THEM YOU CAN NOT MEASURE WHAT THEY ARE TAKING IN SO AT LEAST PUT THEM IN FRONT OF THE TV WITH A PROGRAM OR SOMETHING THEY ENJOYED IN THE PAST. WITH A PROGRAM LIKE COOKING OR HUNTING ETC. wHEN THAT PROGRAM HAS ENDED TAKE THEM AWAY AND PUT THEM SOMEWHERE THEY CAN BE STIMULATED OR MIGHT ENJOY. pLEASE NO RADIO STATION ON ALL DAY CAN BE VERY OVER STIMULATING. tHEN STAFF MIGHT SAY WHY IS SHE SO HARD TO TAKE CARE OF THIS AFTERNOON,MAYBE JIBBER JABBER ALL AFTERNOON. wHEN READING TO OUR VERY LOW FUNCTION READ VERY SLOWLY. hOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR OUR RESIDENT TO PROCESS WORDS. ONE DAY I SAID JOHN WILL YOU LOOD AT ME, IT TOOK NEARLY 45 SECONDS FOR JOHN TO LOOK AT ME.SO MAYBE THAT MAY BE A REASON THEY ARE NOT SHOWING ANY RESPONCE. MAYBE YOU ARE TALKING TO FAST FOR THEM TO PROCESS. MOST IMPORTANT MAKE SURE THEY ARE AWAKE. WHY WASTE YOUR TIME IF THEY ARE NOT AWAKE.YOU HAVE TO RUB THEIR SHOULDERS AND TALK IN A LOUD VOICE WAKE UPJOHN IT IS TIME TO WAKEUP AND WAIT. I INSERVICE WITH THE ALZHEIMERS ASS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest laurie stevens Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 My administrator gave me 21 additional hours for my aides this coming year. The catch is that I need to do more low sensory activities. I'm stuck, I need at least one a day hopefully two. Here's what I have thus far: Wheel Chair Dancing Story Time Poetry Reading Props Story Telling Sweet Scents Wheel Chair Patio Tours (Weather Permitting) Any other ideas? Thanks!!![/font] our low functioning folks react to youth visits very well. we have a few schools that visit us at least every other month and staff will bring theirs in for visits. make sure to check careplans to see that they enjoy being around children Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quilterbcathy 0 Report Share Posted December 27, 2006 Hi, I am new here. In our low sensory groups among other things we offer pieces of fabric (about 4 - 6 inches square) on a ring - you'd have maybe 20 pieces of fabric on the ring - with the different textures and colors they seem to enjoy the feel of the fabric, and some, who may have sewn have even spoken a bit. We also have a "hover-ball" we purchased at McFrougles, it is blown up with helium and they can bat at it in the air. We've gotten people to move their arms that might otherwise never move at all. We also had a volunteer who was willling to sew us about a dozen busy aprons that gives them something to "fiddle" with their fingers. I'm leaving my asst. job to start as director at a smaller facility next week. I think it will go good but a little nervous! Cathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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