As well as catching up on her reading during lockdown and reviewing books (see my blog post Experiencing dementia through a love story, 26 August 2020) Wendy Gleadle has also been recording short chats.
As she explained, 'I am still "locked out" of my care home, but last week the Activities Manager rang to invite me to keep in touch in a new way.
'Each week for the next few weeks,' she says, 'I am going to video a short film of myself having a coffee and chat session, with the aim of stimulating conversations. On Monday I did one on "hugs", and I'm just preparing the next one on "food I like". He was so pleased with the first one he has invited me to do a couple incorporating prayer!'
Several days later and here are the first three short videos Wendy has made – the third one is about the seaside. They are excellent tools for reminiscence with those living with dementia. I can see them being a boon for care staff who want to offer stimulus to their residents with dementia while visitors are still few and far between… and also for carers living at home one- on-one with a loved one with dementia. You could sit down with a cuppa, as Wendy suggests, and enter a different world of imagination and fond reminiscences.
'I was asked to provide "conversation starters",' adds Wendy, 'but am planning to make the next one more of a prayerful response to feeling anxious.'
No. 1. Hugs
No. 2. Food
No. 3: Seaside holidays
I think Wendy is a natural in front of the camera, and feel sure the videos on YouTube will draw much larger audiences than she might ever have imagined.