Snoezelen: multi-sensory healing environments

Snoezelen are kind of chill rooms for the mentally and emotionally challenged.

Snoezelen, a contraction of “snuffelen” (to explore) and “doezelen” (to relax), is an idea developed in the late 1970′s by two Dutch therapists, Jan Hulsegge and Ad Verheul. They had learned of the positive responses a colleague was able to elicit from people with intellectual disabilities while exposed to a sensory environments and decided to further explore the idea. Their first sensory tent was filled with simple effects such as a fan blowing shards of paper, ink mixed with water and projected onto a screen, musical instruments, tactile objects, scent bottles, soaps, and flavorful foods. The results were impressive, specifically in clients who showed a marked reduction in self-abusive behaviors.

Snoezelen is now used widely in education and care settings for children with disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. Encouraging results have also been shown from people suffering from mental illness, chronic pain, acquired brain injury, and stress. Over the past fifteen years, Snoezelen has expanded into 30 countries with thousands of installations, a worldwide foundation, national and international conferences, and research projects

Extraordinary Cat Senses When Death is Near for Nursing Home Residents

Most cat lovers claim their felines have a second sense when it comes to sensing the emotional/physical state of humans. In my family’s case, our cat Daphne never fails to jump on the lap of anyone in the house who starts crying or seems upset.

Perhaps the most famous example of feline sensitivity is Oscar, an extraordinary Tabby cat who lives in a nursing home and can tell when people are about to die.

If you haven’t already heard of Oscar in the news you will soon see him on the big screen in a film adaptation of the New York Times bestseller MAKING ROUNDS WITH OSCAR: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat, by geriatrician Dr. David Dosa.

Dr. David Dosa runs a 400-500 patient primary care dementia clinic in the outpatient setting at Steere House in Providence Rhode Island and every day Oscar joins him to make the rounds on the third floor where terminally ill residents live. Here is the story:

A few hours before a resident passes away, Oscar climbs onto his or her bed. He purrs and refuses to leave until the patient dies. His predictions are always right-he never lingers unless the person is within a few hours of death. His unusual talent provides an early warning system, giving caregivers precious time to alert family members that their loved one is near the end of life. Steere House residents and their families are grateful to Oscar for the comfort and companionship he provides during this difficult time.

Many readers follow the Eden Alternative philosophy, which strongly encourages introducing animal companions to nursing home residents. Do any of our readers have similar experiences they can share?

Spreading the culture change the message

How do we spread the message of culture change and the Eden Alternative philosophy? We have a powerful example from Dotty St. Amand, executive director of the Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer’s Resource Center in Fort Myers, Florida. Dotty published a column in her local newspaper detailing the principles of the Eden Alternative as laid out in Dr. Bill Thomas’ book ”In the Arms of Elders: A Parable of Wise Leadership and Community Building.” Submitting an editorial or letter-to-the editor is a great way to share the message of culture change in your community. And thanks to the internet, that message can resound beyond your community to the whole world:

Love, variety, responsibility bolster elders

By Dotty St. Amand

In his book “In the Arms of Elders: A Parable of Wise Leadership and Community Building,” author William H. Thomas shares his philosophy that loneliness, helplessness and boredom are the three plagues that account for the bulk of suffering among our elders.

Thomas, a physician, presents a philosophy of care and respect for our elders that includes identifying antidotes to overcome the challenges of each plague.

Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. In Dr. Thomas’ plan, which health care professionals know as the Eden Alternative, a dignified life that encourages older people to stay engaged in their community centers around close and continuing contact with children, plants and animals in their daily lives.

The antidote to helplessness is to give as well as receive care throughout later life. According to Dr. Thomas, a healthy human community promotes both of these virtues while seeking to maintain balance between the two.

Engaging our elders in the care of the children, plants and pets accomplishes this goal as well as providing loving companionship.

Filling our lives with variety and spontaneity provides an antidote for boredom. Throughout our lives, adding variety and spontaneity is an important element of living a pleasurable and worthwhile life.

We should encourage individuals of all ages to take a chance and do something out of their ordinary routine throughout the life span.

The lessons we can learn from Dr. Thomas’ book are that we should bring spontaneity and variety to the lives of our elders and encourage companionship at every stage of life. We should also give our elders every opportunity to care for others in addition to receiving care.

People are living longer, which presents an excellent opportunity for multigenerational care within the family. Encourage older people to help with the care of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Dr. Thomas’ book and theories are used to teach future health care providers in college classes as well as re-energize more seasoned care providers through continuing education programs. His work is well-known in the field of aging and long term care. Bringing it to the general public will help us expand the good work that comes from embracing his philosophy of caring for older adults.

Hopefully, each person reading this article will find a way to help engage an elder today. Think of the many wonderful things you can learn from their many years of experience and wisdom while giving back companionship to them.

Protection from financial elder abuse

Protecting your parent from financial elder abuse is an important parent care responsibility. This type of abuse robs your parent of her money finance, elder finance abuse and her freedom because money equals choice when it comes to elder care services. Financial elder abuse is defined as a person taking an elder’s money or property for his/her own needs.

Abusers sometimes use threats of abandonment or make the elder feel guilty to convince the elder to turn the control of assets over to them. Sometimes, “feel good” tactics are used. The abuser befriends a lonely senior in person or over the phone or taps into greed by convincing the senior that he has won a prize.

Financial elder abuse warning signs
•Caregivers or family members who isolate the senior or speak for the senior
•Increased withdrawals or credit card charges
•Access to the elder’s account in ways that doesn’t match their abilities, for example a homebound senior making ATM withdrawals

Steps to protect against financial elder abuse:
•Protect your parents’ sensitive financial information from identity theft by securing blank checks, bank and brokerage statements and credit cards if you have service providers in their home.
•Shred incoming credit card applications and other unused financial documents.
•Monitor your parent’s accounts for unusual activity
•Discuss common financial scams with your parent. The police department will have more information about scams that are going on in your local area.

Sadly, this abuse is sometimes committed by family members. If your parent care responsibilities include serving as your parent’s agent in their power of attorney for finance, it is your responsibility to make sure your parent’s money is only used for their benefit. This may mean some tough conversations with family members and your parents around loans and monetary gifts.

It’s important as a family to discuss your parent care values around protecting your parents’ money. You can create a family agreement that outlines acceptable behavior based on your family values. It might have some of these elements:

As a family we agree that
•Mom and dad’s money is for their use and pleasure
•We will not accept loans or large monetary gifts from mom and dad unless it is part of a well thought out estate planning strategy

Caring for aging parents

Statistics show that people are living longer and longer. The age that people live to has grown dramatically in the past 20 years. Because elderly people are living longer there is usually greater need for assistance as we age. In the majority of households the assistance that seniors receive usually comes from their children.

In many families seniors never imagined that they might need assistance from the children. Likewise, many children of aging parents never thought that they would be assisting their parents as they age. Sometimes, this children assisting parent role reversal can lead to conflicts for the children and the parents. Because of this, many children want to know how to deal with aging parents.

There are six (6) key steps to follow on how to deal with aging parents:

1. You should prepare yourself and your family for the undertaking. Even though this is your parent, it is like including another from member of the family in a significant way. Your spouse and your children should be aware of what you plan to do. There will be less resistance or conflict if everyone knows the plan. If you can get your spouse or children to actively participate that is even better.

2. Remember that you are at a different stage in life than your parent. For most of us, development does not stop once we reach adulthood. You are not the same person you were when you were 21. Your parent is not the same person they were when they were your age.

3. Try to look at their concerns from their perspective. Respect their desire for control and regularity. None of us are comfortable with change and this is even truer with seniors. Remember that the only thing worse than change, is change that you have no control over. Be sure to make your parents feel that they still have some control over their life.

4. Try to help your parent maintain the highest level of independence for as long as possible. The level of independence you start with will depend on the unique situation of your family. Don’t be afraid to include assistance and decrease the level of independence if necessary.

5. Have a management plan for the essentials like money management; bills; health plans; and any necessary equipment or modifications.

6. Most importantly, help your parent maintain as good of health as possible. No one will live forever, but there are things we can do to help maintain our health as long as possible. Studies show that this factor, more than any other, can make the greatest difference in the quality of life of your aging parent. It is this last point that most children of aging parents seem to have the most difficulty with. For assistance with how to deal with an aging parent, I recommend consulting a Health Concierge. A Health Concierge is a professional that is expert in decisions about how to deal with aging parents.

By S. Brian Lindsay

Dr. Lindsay has more than 18 years of clinical practice experience and reviews new health products and services. For more information about a Health Concierge or a Free Consultation, go to Health Virtual Assistant Concierge

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