Brantford activity assistant counts smiles among greatest rewards Working with residents who have dementia and creating meaningful programming fufilling   Thursday April 15, 2010 -- Lisa Bailey A smile and a few minutes of concentration are Caroline Casey's greatest rewards. The part-time activity assistant at Leisureworld Caregiving Centre Brantford has enjoyed doing programming for residents of all abilities at the long-term care home for eight years. However, she says working with residents with dementia and Alzheimer's disease "is where my heart is." And breakthroughs, big or small, long or short, are the best thing about her work. "I don't need someone to tell me, 'You're doing a good job.' For me, it's the non-verbal communication that is most important, seeing a smile on their face, seeing that you've reached them for that period of time, seeing them focus," Casey says. Generally at the home five days a week, Casey plans and holds activities ranging from a morning tea to a pub night. A Senses Alive program is based on the Montessori approach, with residents performing tasks once relevant to them, such as flower arranging or folding towels. Casey says that keeping the activity to about 20 minutes on average and working with small groups of five to eight residents allows her to "give them the time that's needed,” and they can respond by focusing and reminiscing. Patience and remembering behaviours are "part of the disease process" and are also necessary for interacting with residents with dementia, she says. "It's not the resident that's acting this way, it's the disease that's taking over and causing them to make these decisions," Casey says. Upgrading skills and knowledge is encouraged at Brantford, says Casey, who welcomes learning new things. This training is vital, she says, because long-term care residents are younger and facing more challenges compared to 10 to 15 years ago. She notes, for example, Leisureworld is holding training in Montessori-based activities next month for activation staff. Attendance at Activity Professionals of Ontario events is also encouraged. Utilizing resources and creativity are emphasized among activation staff in order to come up with new programming. Casey says this flexibility, coupled with her manager’s guidance, leadership and support, makes for an effective and very pleasant working environment. Casey, who was an activation manager for seven years before becoming a mom, entered the long-term care field on a fluke. Studying psychology in university, she wanted to specialize in working with children but was sent to the wrong professor and wound up in a gerontology program. "It was the best thing that ever happened,” she says. "They (residents) give me so much joy.” If you have feedback on this article, please contact the newsroom at 800-294-0051, ext. 25, or e-mail lisa(at)axiomnews.ca.