Liz Lewis, R.N. and Mary Emma Allen at Alzheimer's Notes - RE: Dementia Project

There is a team written blog at alzheimersnotes.com by Liz Lewis, R.N. and Mary Emma Allen. A recent post tells about a creative writing project designed to allow people with dementia living in residential assisted care homes "to have their stories and words seen and heard." The project was designed by a writer in residence, Anthea McKinley for the Glasgow City Council. The project is called "In Our Own Words" and it enables people with dementia to be "recognized as authors in their own right".

I went to the website for the project and I loved the insightful writing by the authors.

One of the writers with dementia listed on the website, Norma Smith, writes about "Being in a Book" and says the following.

"It's very exciting how you can find words in your brain. How words turn into sentences. Suddenly you find you have a wee masterpiece. It goes to the printing press..."

Alex Wallace writes about the experience and says the following.

"I think when you're living like we do, you need someone else outside of your family to make you feel part of a whole, not just part of a wee bit."

Not just caregivers, but people everywhere can understand better what it feels like to experience life from these authors points of view by reading some of their material.

I have been taking a Life Story Writing class by an instructor who also teaches it at assisted care facilities, so finding this blog post and the website was especially interesting.

When I've been caregiving for people with Alzheimer's or Dementia I like to ask questions about the people's lives. If one moment their memory about this morning's events is not very good, in the next moment they might be telling me about things that happened many years ago.

I think enabling people with Alzheimer's and Dementia to tell their stories, and to help trigger their memories with "memory joggers" such as photos, scrapbooks and so on makes their lives more full and relieves some of their isolation.

Elders Enjoy Helping With Family History

Traditionally elderly people were the storytellers who preserved family stories and legends. Today, seniors often enjoy the social interaction of discussing family history and life stories. I have often thought it helped some of the elderly seniors I've assisted, who live alone, to feel less lonely when they share their life history and memories with me. For many elderly people memories of long ago events are sharper than the details of last week. This is because the earlier memories became part of long term memory, and as we age short term memory starts to lose ability. Storytelling was traditionally the role of the elderly, who preserved the family history, traditions, and legends for the next generation.

Sharing their memories with a younger generation is one way elderly seniors can interact socially, reduce loneliness, and have a hobby of preserving the family history.

Today writing life histories and researching family backgrounds and genealogy are as popular as ever. Dates, names, and events can be researched on the internet. Special reminders can help trigger memories of things that happened fifty or sixty years ago.

As a caregiver I've been surprised when people 95 years old, who have short term memory difficulties, can tell me details of the houses where they grew up 80 years ago. One person whom I assisted turned 100 years old, and was still telling stories of growing up in Minnesota, moving to California, and enjoying the weather and new foods after the move.

Storytelling is still a wonderful activity for elderly seniors, and caregivers and families can enjoy hearing true experiences from history instead of reading about it in books. Recording or writing down the family history can create a treasure to pass on to other generations.

Whenever you don't know how to pass the time of day, you can always ask an elderly person to tell you about life when that person was a child. Frequently even people with memory issues can recall childhood experiences.

There are lots of good internet sites, and one that I stumbled upon is Heirloom Stories. Some people combine reminiscing with making a scrapbook, adding memories to a family cookbook, or writing a memoir. So many memoirs have been published that you never know whose memories may come out as a book next.

Life Story Writing or Telling Provides Memory Retrieval Exercise for Seniors

Anthropologist Myla Colllier, San Luis Obispo, California explains that life story telling or writing provides memory retrieval exercise for seniors. It is an opportunity to record or write an autobiography, research ancestors, and enjoy studying historical events.

Sharpening memory by using old photographs, letters and souvenirs is beneficial and caregivers can help by providing questions, scrapbooks and historical events that "nudge" old memories back to the surface.

As a caregiver I have an interesting time when seniors are remembering life and historical events that they experienced.

Classes for seniors in life story and genealogy (reseaching ancestors) are popular. While many adult emeritus or adult community classes are often held at colleges and off campus locations, now assisted care senior facilities are joining up with local community educational programs to have instructors give classes there too.

Genealogy Clubs are available in many towns and members can share research techniques, meet for classes, and meet new friends.

A typical class in our community may take 8 weeks, several hours per class, and cover a different stage of life from early childhood to middle years and beyond at each meeting. Historical events and life events can be linked. For example, a senior might recall moving to California during the Great Depression of the 1930's.

Many websites have life history and genealogy guides and research available.

In San Luis Obispo County, California, Cuesta College Emeritus presents a variety of Life Story classes.

Instructor Myla Collier, an Anthropologist, provides a lively discussion group with weekly readings by the participants, steps to improve memory retrieval, and ways to organize the life history information.

For information you can call Myla Colllier at (805) 543-9514. Elsewhere you can check your local community activities or go to ancestry.com or one of the many other life history and genealogy websites.