chestelm adult day services
TRANSCRIPT
Chestelm Adult Day Services P.O. Box 584, 542 Town Street, Moodus, CT 06469
(860)873-3833 Fax (860)873-1091 [email protected]
Office Notes:
if you would like to switch your days, please call the office in
advance to let Victoria know. In the event of a closing due to
weather or loss of power, we will post closings or delays on channel
3 WFSB and channel 30 NBC. If you would like to be notified by text
or a phone call, please let Victoria know by calling her at (860)873-
3833. Due to inclement weather, we would appreciate that all
driveways be plowed, shoveled, or salted to be safe for the vans,
staff, and your loved ones. Please remember to dress in layers, with
the colder weather. If you have any new coats, please remember to
put your name or initials on them.
Nurse’s Notes:
Please note from now on we respectfully request everyone wear a
medical mask. If you don’t have one, we can provide them with one.
The staff at CADS has been given the second dose of the Pfizer
vaccine to protect them and your loved ones. We encourage you to
investigate getting it for your loved one’s protection. If you choose
to get the vaccine could you please, let Victoria know so that she can
observe them at the Club for any side effects. If you have any
questions about the COVID vaccine you are welcome to call Victoria
and she will gladly answer any of your questions. If you would like to
schedule a client care conference, please let Victoria know by calling
(860)873-3833. The next Memory Club will meet on April 21 from 4-
5:30 PM with social distancing. Call Christine at (860)917-7716 or call
Marie at (860)873-6555 if you have any questions or if you are
interested in attending. All are welcome! The podiatrist will be here
on April date TBA. If you are not already on the list and would like to
be added, please call Victoria.
Kathy’s Corner:
If anyone is interested in having their newsletters sent by e-mail,
please let Victoria or Kathy know by calling (860)873-3833 or by
sending an e-mail to [email protected] with your e-mail
address. Thank You!
April’s Flower is the Daisy
April’s flower is the daisy, one of the oldest and best-known English flowers. It retains its Anglo-Saxon name, “day’s eye,” because of its appearance and the fact that it closes according to the amount of available sunshine. According to legend, the first daisy appeared when a young nymph turned herself into one to avoid unwanted attention. Thus, the flower has come to symbolize modesty, chastity, and innocence. The daisy is also used to tell if “he loves me” or “loves me not” by pulling off the petals one-by-one.
April’s Birthstone is the Diamond
The birthstone for April is the diamond. For centuries, this stone has signified romance, intrigue, power, greed, and magic. In the Middle Ages, it was used to cure headaches and to create love potions. Today, it symbolizes everlasting love. Formed nearly 100 miles beneath Earth’s surface in temperatures that exceed 2700˚F, the diamond is the world’s hardest naturally occurring substance. It is also the purest of all gemstones, composed completely from crystallized carbon. Its name comes from the Greek word adamas, which means “unconquerable.”
April Birthdays
In astrology, those born from April 1–19 are Rams of Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. Rams are unafraid to forge ahead with passion, zeal, and confidence. Full of optimism and hope, they are both eager to get the job done and unafraid to confront problems head-on. Those born from April 20–30 are Bulls of Taurus. While Taureans enjoy the comforts of luxury, they are unafraid of hard work and dedicate themselves to the tasks at hand. Their steadfast nature makes them reliable.
David T. April 1st David K. April 4th Anita April 15th
April 2021
Celebrating April
April Fools’ Day
April 1
Good Friday
April 2
Easter
April 4
Leslie Carr on Guitar
Sing Along
April 7th
Scrabble Day
April 13
Memory Club
April 21
4-5:30 PM
Earth Day
April 22
Arbor Day
April 30
January 2021
Chestelm Adult Day Services
P.O. Box 584
542 Town Street
Moodus, CT 06469
Reality Orientation Versus Validation Therapy
By Lynne Grip
Reality orientation (RO) was first utilized in the 1950s in the rehabilitation of soldiers traumatized by the war. In the 1960s, it was introduced as a treatment strategy to help improve the cognition of people with dementia. Reinforcing the date, time, location, and current events was thought to help orient people with dementia and ground them to the present. Approaches included verbal and visual cues (such as calendars, clocks, newspapers) and ongoing reinforcement of the “facts” surrounding a person’s life and immediate environment. This demanded that the person constantly be corrected when they drifted from the present.
But, constantly telling someone they are wrong, especially if they’re deep in their own reality, often adds to their stress and frustration. Though RO proved helpful in the beginning stages of dementia to help keep people oriented and perhaps delay cognitive decline, it was not usually successful for people with more advanced dementia. This led to another approach known as validation therapy (VT), developed by Naomi Feil, a social worker with a focus in gerontology.
VT requires joining a person in their reality rather than expecting them to join in yours. To many people, it is a kinder, more empathetic approach. VT is not about lying to the person or treating them as a child, but rather it is about meeting them where they are and respecting how they are seeing the world. It relies on listening, encouraging reminiscing, and using distraction as indicated.
Here is an example of how reality orientation and validation therapy might be employed with a person seeking their parent who is long since deceased—a common occurrence. In reality orientation, the person would gently be told that their parent was dead, perhaps pointing out the person’s age (often people think of themselves as much younger) and the impossibility of their parent still being alive. Based on the person’s response, further discussions, and interventions (such as distraction) would follow. In validation therapy, the person would not be told their parent was dead, but instead might be asked to talk about their parent and to recall fond memories of them. In this way, the person would hopefully be redirected from anxious concerns to positive recollections.
The use of redirection or distraction is a useful tool in either RO or VT. An example is when someone with dementia is desperately looking for the keys to a car they no longer have. One way to distract would be to say that you have misplaced the keys and will look for them later, but for now how about taking a walk or some other activity to take their mind off of their car.
Above: Jane is participating in the community canvas. She is very intent on her artwork.
The clients had a good time making butterflies out of coffee filters. Millie (above) is showing her two-day project. First, they had to dye their coffee filters. Then, they had to let them dry overnight. On the second day they folded them and created beautiful butterflies, each one was unique.
Everyone did a great job, making their butterflies. It was great to see them create butterflies that were different from one another. Crafts continue to be one of the client’s favorite activities. Darlene (on the right) had fun making her work of art! Everyone should be proud of their creations.
Kathy was trying to blow out her candles on her Birthday cake by being COVID safe. Let hope and pray that we can kick COVID to the curb. We are so grateful to the clients and families to help us to remain COVID free here at CADS.
The clients made a community canvas in March. We had no
idea how much the clients would enjoy doing it. Donna
started the painting off by listening to some meditation
music. She let her paint brush flow to the music and did a
fabulous job. Norie, Jane, Millie, Anita, Darlene and Margie
followed her. It was amazing to watch the calm and
relaxation that they felt while creating their artwork.
April 2021 April 2021