Dementia Awareness Week this year was, I think, a great success. I couldnt help but sing along to the TV advert, avidly joined in the social media chat and have been heartened to see so many people going about their ordinary day wearing their dementia friends badges. Its a badge to say hello..you can talk to me. Awareness is great, talking is better. But lets not forget the power of listening. I completed a 1PP with a lady in a large care home recently. Seen as a difficult character and a loner, at times slumped in a chair , at others vigorously walking and searching. We opened the 1PP meeting by asking permission to share her space and sitting companionably without words until she was ready. When you havent been heard for some time, it takes a leap of faith to make that connection. The 1PP meeting is a map, a route to find our way to people who have been lost. People who are often all too aware , who try with every ounce of their being to talk, but who cannot always find people who have the skill or the heart to listen. The meeting generated so many ideas of how to support this person to reassert her own identity, have agency, build relationships and be valued. The last time I saw her she was cuddled on a sofa with a member of staff, laughing and gossiping about the debutant party she attended once in a grand ballroom in London. It has taken time for her to regain her confidence to talk. The same time it has taken staff to regain their confidence to listen. No longer a loner, no longer searching. (Tanya HSA)
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 07:31:48 +0000
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