Forum Discussion

Have you tried hand massage very gentle and with a little lavender oil and hand cream, mobile something shiny hanging , music soft , play music of thier generation, see how thay react if they don't put that in thier talk to them , it dosent matter that thay are non verbal see if thay have have information about thier life in thier care plan?
Hope this helps and good luck

any kind of sensory stimulating things. CD player or I pod in their room for music or audio stories Put the news station on the radio. Aroma therapy.

Make sure you write all the things you've tried and the residents response and you are notes
Make sure you write in your care plan that you will continue to try different ideas and observe the responses to see what works best and then update it every three months changing things that need to be changed and Documenting the success or failure of each trial
This will hopefully satisfy the surveyors when you have your annual survey
Hopefully it will give more pleasure to this resident

I've had to write a careplan for non-active residents before and you are right it is difficult and in my experience get asked a lot of questions about. However, if you cover all your bases then as an ACTD I think you are the best person to advocate for their right to choose their own schedule (even if that means they don't want to do anything).

Since they are non-verbal, have you interviewed family members for preferences? Do you go in to change the channel on the TV every so often or make sure they have new music to listen to? Does she go to the dining room for meals? Does family visit?

If it is a quarterly note I would say something like: Ms. Smith continues her preferred routine in her room. Activity staff continue to offer (book cart) (1:1's) (room visits) 1-2 times to week to ensure Ms. Smith has the option of activities if she should choose to do so. Activity staff will continue to monitor for changes in preference. Family visits (how often?).

Thank you much, I am doing all these things now, thanks again

By looking into their background with family members or even previous Lifestyle Evaluations, it’s amazing the ideas you can put together. I recently have 1:1 engagement ( ongoing) with a lady who is non verbal and blind, also no mobility , however when I read the previous care plan it mentioned she and her husband used to be in a jazz band. I’ve put together a playlist with the iPad and 2-3 times a week I’ll give her a hand massage while she has the headphones on low of jazz music. It really seems to calm her. An awesome step forward.