Daisygirl1179 0 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 I feel like my group facilitation skills are rusty or underdeveloped. I am great one on one or in a group of two to four. Any advice on especially exericise groups for people with alzheimer's disease would be great. This is my thrid week as a activity director for the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen 0 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 I feel like my group facilitation skills are rusty or underdeveloped. I am great one on one or in a group of two to four. Any advice on especially exericise groups for people with alzheimer's disease would be great. This is my thrid week as a activity director for the first time. Partigularly with those who have cognitive deficits, it's important to go a little slower than you would with other groups, be sure you model each movement while verbally giving the instructions, using enthusiasm & giving praise i.e.: "Good job!", etc. The residents usually do better if I use music along with the exercise that has a strong beat. Mitch Miller CD's use songs residents are familiar with. They're a bit hard to find. Try the internet. They're worth the effort. There are also some fairly good exercise videos out there but you have to do the exercises with them. Stand in front of them by the TV & keep giving them verbal encouragement & praise during the DVD. I've had assistants who have tried to do exercise with a group using no inflection in their voice, with a monotone, & no facial expressions, smiles, or anything. Then they coudn't figure out why they couldn't get the residents to join in! When leading any group or in anything else, our attitude is everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen 0 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 I feel like my group facilitation skills are rusty or underdeveloped. I am great one on one or in a group of two to four. Any advice on especially exericise groups for people with alzheimer's disease would be great. This is my thrid week as a activity director for the first time. Partigularly with those who have cognitive deficits, it's important to go a little slower than you would with other groups, be sure you model each movement while verbally giving the instructions, using enthusiasm & giving praise i.e.: "Good job!", etc. The residents usually do better if I use music along with the exercise that has a strong beat. Mitch Miller CD's use songs residents are familiar with. They're a bit hard to find. Try the internet. They're worth the effort. There are also some fairly good exercise videos out there but you have to do the exercises with them. Stand in front of them by the TV & keep giving them verbal encouragement & praise during the DVD. I've had assistants who have tried to do exercise with a group using no inflection in their voice, with a monotone, & no facial expressions, smiles, or anything. Then they coudn't figure out why they couldn't get the residents to join in! When leading any group or in anything else, our attitude is everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveMyLVN 0 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 Regarding facilitation, I'm wondering how to handle when the group activites have been planned to include their interests, or at least that of some in the group, and presented with a smile and kind invitation, and people still don't want to participate. I know it is their right to refuse, but it's kind of a bummer to put lots of work into planning and not have a good response. How does the effective AD deal with it when activities are refused, and the patients demand something else? One will demand a movie, and another demands a different movie....Any suggestions ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerusha 0 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 I feel like my group facilitation skills are rusty or underdeveloped. I am great one on one or in a group of two to four. Any advice on especially exericise groups for people with alzheimer's disease would be great. This is my thrid week as a activity director for the first time. I am an activity director at a small Alzheimers Dementia facility in San Diego. I lead all the activeis including morning exercises...First, say good morning to everyone individually and make sure they are awake! Make sure you are at the front of the room, with everyone facing you. Be LOUD!!!! Be energetic. Use the same music every time, and use the same routine EVERYTIME! At first it will be hard, but I promise that after the first or second week, it will get better, they WILL respond to the repetitiveness. You must persevere. Consistency and routine are crucial. I do a 20 minute routine pretty successfully every morning. I have them doing Taebo now, they really like the punching. They all remain in their chairs. I call out individual residents by name throughout and tell them how great they are doing. Sometimes I only have 4 people, the other day I had 10! (Our facility has 25 residents, very small,but cozy I love it). Be loud, energetic,,(almost manic), verbal, and consistent. Make a huge deal out of those that do it!!! And do it every day at the same time and the same place. It is amazing how all of a sudden they will respond. You can do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveMyLVN 0 Report Share Posted July 20, 2008 I am an activity director at a small Alzheimers Dementia facility in San Diego. I lead all the activeis including morning exercises...First, say good morning to everyone individually and make sure they are awake! Make sure you are at the front of the room, with everyone facing you. Be LOUD!!!! Be energetic. Use the same music every time, and use the same routine EVERYTIME! At first it will be hard, but I promise that after the first or second week, it will get better, they WILL respond to the repetitiveness. You must persevere. Consistency and routine are crucial. I do a 20 minute routine pretty successfully every morning. I have them doing Taebo now, they really like the punching. They all remain in their chairs. I call out individual residents by name throughout and tell them how great they are doing. Sometimes I only have 4 people, the other day I had 10! (Our facility has 25 residents, very small,but cozy I love it). Be loud, energetic,,(almost manic), verbal, and consistent. Make a huge deal out of those that do it!!! And do it every day at the same time and the same place. It is amazing how all of a sudden they will respond. You can do it! Hi Jerusha, I love your advice and the inspiration for new activity directors. However, what can you recommend for groups which are a mix of people? We have about 20 each day, and some are high functioning and some are dementia, few Alz. patients. At any given time there are not enough people to split up into a lower functioning group. So may things can be either not stimulating enough for some, or too much so for others. Any thoughts please? We are an ADHC in CA. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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