I am a Care Home
There are lots of reasons why Book of You can help at your Care Home; here are just some –
- To encourage or enhance communication.
- To maintain or increase a sense of personal identity.
- To allow them to share in an enjoyable activity in the company of others.
- To improve mood and well-being.
- To stimulate memories.
- It is tailored to an individual and their stage of memory loss.
- Knowledge of the person with dementia is essential in providing person-centred care for someone with dementia who is living in a care home setting, full or part time and also for day visitors.
- It is created (with help) by the person with dementia using their words, music, pictures and/or film, and is a recognisable piece of the life of that person for at least a little while longer and will also serve as a legacy for the family over future generations.
Book of You is a new type of book that uses the proven benefits of reminiscence therapy to create a life story by capturing the precious moments that make up the foundation of our lives and who we are. Using words, pictures, music and film, it brings families, friends and carers together sharing life’s moments in a simple way making storytelling easy, fun and beneficial. It helps show who a person was and who they are now. If you work within a Care Home and come into contact with people with dementia, creating a Book of You can be the ideal activity to learn more about your residents, improve mood, can be part of your person-centered care and help someone live well with dementia, whatever stage they are at. And it’s fun for everyone. For testimonials, watch our film here.
Reminiscence Therapy is defined as the use of life histories – written, oral or both – to improve psychological well-being. The therapy is often used with older people. It helps provide people with a sense of continuity in terms of their life events. Reminiscence therapy may use prompts such as photographs, music or personal recordings.
Reminiscence therapy is increasingly seen as playing an important part in the care and support of people living with dementia, most notably because it has the potential to draw on early memories. These often remain intact in the minds of those who live with dementia and therefore we are able to highlight the person’s preserved abilities rather than any cognitive impairment.
Most care homes already use a paper ‘This Is Me’ type proforma so staff can learn a little about the resident – their likes and dislikes for example. Book of You takes this one stage further and enables us to find out more about a person, such as why they don’t like a particular thing. As well as being invaluable for the staff, Book of You is also for the resident to enjoy alone or with friends or carers. As it’s online and family members can join via a password, it also enables family to see what their relative does during the day – activities, outings etc. And the family can add to the Book too so the resident can see weddings, new additions to the family etc from anywhere in the world. The Book of You can go with the resident if they go into hospital or if they move to another care home. So it will never be lost like paper files often can.
A research paper in 2012 predicted that by 2017 it will be commonplace for people with dementia to have a digital life story, including favourite music, photographs and video clips. There will be a touch-screen interface for the tool. The problem will be how to organise the wealth of available material in such a way that the person can use the tool to stimulate their own memories and to share something of their life with others. If this can be addressed, this tool will enable care workers to quickly get to know the person with dementia, and to develop programmes of activity and stimulation that reflect the person’s interests and passions. This has the potential to take forward person-centred care to a higher level, with care workers being able to have more effective means of adopting an approach that takes into account the person’s biography. (Subramaniam and Woods, 2012)
Book of You is the perfect tool to manage this.
How do we start?
Book of You staff will meet with you to discuss how sessions will be organised. Once agreed, these usually take place over the course of 6 weeks, usually on the same day and at the same time. Each weekly session will last around an hour. The care home must have access to reliable wi-fi and care home staff should also take part in the sessions. Family members are also welcome at these sessions. The group sizes should not be too large – ideally two people with dementia to one member of Book of You staff (or carer or Care Home member of staff). This is so the person with dementia is not left alone for long without any stimulation.
The cost includes a licence to run Book of You at your care home, Book of You staff for the six weeks of sessions, online assistance during office hours, yearly training top up, certificate for staff who have completed the sessions and can then train others how to use it for new residents who arrive after the sessions are complete.
For more details including cost, contact Kathy on info@bookofyou.co.uk or by phoning 07719 839797
Cartref Gofal ydw i
Mae llawer o ffyrdd y gall Book of You helpu yn eich cartref gofal: dyma rai ohonynt –
- Annog a chyfoethogi cyfathrebu.
- Cynnal neu gynyddu’r teimlad o hunaniaeth bersonol.
- Eu galluogi i gymryd rhan mewn gweithgaredd pleserus yng nghwmni eraill.
- Codi hwyliau a gwella lles.
- Sbarduno atgofion.
- Mae wedi ei deilwra ar gyfer unigolyn a faint o’r cof mae wedi ei golli
- Mae meddu gwybodaeth am y sawl sydd â dementia yn hanfodol os am ddarparu gofal sy’n canolbwyntio ar yr unigolyn i berson â dementia sy’n byw mewn cartref gofal, yn llawn-amser neu’n rhan-amser, a hefyd ar gyfer ymwelwyr dydd.
- Y person sydd â dementia sy’n ei greu (gyda chymorth), gan ddefnyddio ei eiriau o, cerddoriaeth, lluniau neu/a ffilmiau. Mae yn rhan adnabyddadwy o fywyd y person yna am ychydig mwy o amser o leiaf, a bydd hefyd yn etifeddiaeth i’r teulu am genedlaethau i ddod.
Math newydd o lyfr yw Book of You. Mae’n defnyddio manteision profedig therapi hel atgofion i greu hanes bywyd drwy gipio’r eiliadau gwerthfawr yna sy’n sail i’n bywydau a phwy ydym. Drwy ddefnyddio geiriau, lluniau, cerddoriaeth a ffilm, mae’n fodd syml i deuluoedd, ffrindiau a gofalwyr rannu eiliadau bywyd ac adrodd stori mewn ffordd hawdd, hwyliog a buddiol. Mae’n helpu i ddangos pwy oedd rhywun a phwy ydi’r person yna erbyn hyn. Os ydych chi’n gweithio mewn Cartref Gofal ac yn dod mewn cysylltiad â phobl â dementia, gall creu Book of You fod yn ffordd ddelfrydol i chi ddysgu mwy am y preswylwyr a chodi hwyliau. Gall fod yn rhan o’ch gofal sy’n canolbwyntio ar yr unigolyn a helpu rhywun sydd â dementia gael bywyd gwell, waeth bynnag eu cyflwr. Ac mae’n hwyl i bawb. Os am dystebau, gwyliwch ein ffilm yma.
Diffiniad Therapi hel atgofion yw defnyddio hanesion bywyd – ar lafar, yn ysgrifenedig, neu gyfyniad o’r ddau – i wella lles seicolegol. Defnyddir y therapi’n aml gyda phobl mewn oed. Mae’n helpu i roi ymdeimlad o barhad iddynt o’u bywydau. Gall Therapi hel atgofion ddefnyddio ysgogiadau fel lluniau, cerddoriaeth neu recordiadau personol.
Credir fwyfwy bob dydd fod Therapi hel atgofion yn chwarae rhan bwysig yng ngofal a chynhaliaeth pobl sydd â dementia, yn bennaf am ei fod yn gallu defnyddio atgofion cynnar. Mae’r rhain yn aml yn aros yn gyfan ym meddyliau pobl â dementia ac felly rydym yn gallu amlygu’r galluoedd sydd gan y person yna o hyd yn hytrach nag amlygu unrhyw nam gwybyddol.
Mae’r rhan fwyaf o gartrefi gofal eisoes yn defnyddio math o brofforma papur ‘Dyma fi’ er mwyn i’r staff gael dysgu rhywfaint am y preswylwyr – er enghraifft eu hoff a’u cas bethau. Mae Book of You yn mynd un cam ymhellach ac yn ein galluogi i ddarganfod mwy am unigolyn, fel y rheswm pam nad yw’n hoffi rhywbeth arbennig. Yn ogystal â bod yn amhrisiadwy i’r staff, mae’n rhoi mwyniant i’r preswylydd ar ei ben ei hun neu gyda ffrindiau neu ofalwyr. Gan ei fod ar y We ac aelodau o’r teulu yn gallu ymuno drwy ddefnyddio cyfrinair, mae’n gallu dangos i’r teuluoedd beth mae’r perthynas yn wneud yn ystod y dydd – gweithgareddau, teithiau, ayb. A gall y teulu ychwanegu pethau at y Llyfr hefyd fel bod y preswylydd yn gallu gweld priodasau, newydd-ddyfodiaid i’r teulu, ayb., o ben baladr. Gall Book of You fynd gyda’r preswylydd i ysbyty neu os ydi o’n symud i gartref arall. Fel hyn fydd y wybodaeth byth yn mynd ar goll fel gall ddigwydd yn aml gyda ffeiliau papur.
Fe wnaeth papur ymchwil yn 2012 ragweld y byddai’n gyffredin i bobl â dementia fod â hanes bywyd digidol erbyn 2017, yn cynnwys hoff gerddoriaeth, lluniau a chlipiau fideo. Rhyngwyneb sgrin gyffwrdd fydd yr offeryn. Y broblem fydd sut i drefnu’r holl ddefnydd gwerthfawr sydd ar gael fel bod yr unigolyn yn gallu defnyddio’r offeryn i ysgogi ei atgofion ac i rannu peth o’i fywyd gydag eraill. Os gellir gwneud hyn, bydd yr offeryn yma yn galluogi gweithwyr gofal i ddod i adnabod y person sydd â dementia yn fuan, ac i ddatblygu rhaglenni gweithgaredd a symbyliad sy’n adlewyrchu diddordebau a hoff bethau’r person. Mae potensial yma i godi safon gofal sy’n canolbwyntio ar yr unigolyn i lefel uwch, ac yn ei gwneud yn haws i weithwyr gofal addasu dull gweithredu sy’n cymryd bywgraffiad y person i ystyriaeth. (Subramaniam and Woods,2012)
Sut mae cychwyn?
Bydd staff Book of You yn eich cyfarfod i drafod sut fydd trefnu’r sesiynau. Ar ôl cytuno, bydd y rhain fel arfer yn digwydd dros gyfnod o 6 wythnos, fel arfer ar yr un diwrnod a’r un amser. Bydd pob sesiwn wythnosol yn para tuag awr. Bydd rhaid i’r cartref gofal fod â chyswllt wi-fi dibynadwy a dylai staff y cartref gymryd rhan ym mhob sesiwn. Mae croeso i aelodau o’r teulu gymryd rhan yn y sesiynau yma hefyd. Ni ddylai maint y grwpiau fod yn rhy fawr – yn ddelfrydol dau berson â dementia i bob aelod o staff Book of You (neu ofalwr neu aelod o staff y cartref gofal). Y rheswm dros hyn yw rhag i’r person â dementia gael ei adael ar ei ben ei hun yn rhy hir heb symbyliad.
Mae’r pris yn cynnwys trwydded i redeg Book of You yn eich cartref preswyl, cymorth gan staff Book of You am 6 wythnos y sesiynau, cymorth ar-lein yn ystod oriau swyddfa, ychwanegiad hyfforddiant blynyddol, tystysgrif i’r aelodau staff sydd wedi cwblhau’r sesiynau ac sy’n gallu hyfforddi eraill i ddefnyddio’r system gyda phreswylwyr newydd fydd yn cyrraedd ar ôl i’r sesiynau orffen.
Am fwy o fanylion, yn cynnwys prisiau, cysylltwch â Kathy ar info@bookofyou.co.uk neu ffoniwch 07719 839797