Hi,
Thanks for joining me for our final session.
I trust the topics and simple strategies we've covered have been helpful for supporting the person in your care living with dementia.
Feel free to revisit the course or meditations any time to ground yourself.
Let's begin with a short meditation.
Find a comfortable position,
Take a few deep breaths,
Gently scan your body,
Listen to the sounds around you.
If the person in your care is nearby,
You may like to hold their hand.
Take a calming breath together or dedicate your next breath to their peace and safety.
Okay,
Let's recap the course.
Session one,
We set an intention to provide compassionate person-centred care.
We explored the pause,
The importance of patience and reintroducing fun,
Familiar past activities into daily life.
Session two focused on engaging activities like art,
Music and movement.
We encouraged creating small moments of joy and used sound in our meditation.
Session three addressed everyday tasks like showering,
Dressing,
Using the toilet,
With dignity and respect.
We practiced the five-finger meditation using soothing words like kind and calm.
Session four introduced the concept of the therapeutic lie to reduce distress.
We discussed understanding dementia as a disease affecting behaviour and mood and encouraged meeting the person where they are rather than correcting their thinking errors.
In session five,
We recapped the whole course so far.
So we reviewed how to talk with the person in your care,
Meet them with empathy and encourage connection through long-term memories.
Session six covered creating a safe,
Familiar environment with cues like clocks and labels to reduce confusion.
We practiced noticing thoughts during meditation,
Actually as moments of mindfulness and another chance to come back to centre.
Session seven addressed early-stage dementia,
Highlighting independence,
Memory aids and collaborative planning.
We repeated soothing phrases and offered compassionate thoughts to those living with dementia.
Session eight explored middle-stage dementia,
Repetitive questions,
Increased confusion and possibly hallucinations.
We discussed clear communication,
Shared tasks and the value of support groups.
Meditation focused on smiling and gratitude.
In session nine,
We covered late-stage dementia,
Emphasising comfort,
Safety and pain management and acknowledged how tricky this section of dementia care can be for everyone involved.
So we centred ourselves with compassion and resilience moving forward.
And here we are in session 10.
I'd like to thank you again for joining me.
I'm going to keep this very simple to end the course.
Ten final key points of person-centred dementia care.
Respect and dignity.
Understanding their perspective.
Communicating clearly and kindly.
Validating,
Not correcting.
Personalising care.
Creating a safe,
Familiar environment.
Encouraging meaningful activities.
Adjusting to the challenges and behaviour changes of the disease.
Seeking support and focusing on strengths.
Thank you for your commitment.
As we end,
I'm actually looking at a photo of my late mum and I at her favourite beach,
Looking at the ocean.
I hope you find peaceful moments of joy as well with the person in your care.
And remember,
You can always return to this moment and this breath.
