An exploration of the UK unpaid carer's world

                                                                                        
                                                                                       invent funny people


3  Activities  from Ways and Means here                                                                                      Home page here  


If you've had physiotherapy, you may have been given a strip of rubber for various exercises.

The Ross DMC will make its own equipment as far as it can.  

Strips of thick elastic are more useful.  Velcro at each ends and two together can form a circle for two members together.  

Longer strips, as you will see, form other uses. 

3.1  Preamble

3.1  General
  1. Meetings are in Section 4 and take place in activity time on the broad programme

  3. Activity time listed under 2.4  Daily routine here   includes speaker sessions.  

  5. As a rule of thumb, speaker sessions are for carers only, while carees are busy elsewhere

  7. Activities not requiring equipment and materials such as discussion, singing, are included

  9. Activities requiring equipment, printing and materials such as singing and card-making will be included

  11.  DIY equipment and materials for making items to be used will be paid for by AFH during the pilot stage

  13. DIY is not limited to the men.  Plenty to be sewn together etc.

  15. The satisfaction of using items made by the group  and not off-the-shelf items, enhances wellbeing and social cohesion.  Although £ may look as if it has been thrown at Leom, when the members use, for example, the cheese and mice here, they are taken for granted.  There's the novelty factor on first use but, as time has progressed, there isn't a subconscious emotional link. 
3.2  Caree levels
  1. Meeting Centres are an innovative way of supporting people with mild to moderate dementia ....    source

  3. No discernible definitions anywhere

  5. The publicity may include the following blue text.  
    1. An invitation is extended to carers with carees who are at the early or intermediate stage of dementia  

    3. An invitation is extended to people who are at the early or intermediate stage of dementia who cope without a carer and/or who still drive and/or who are able to self-organise Dr Lennane to approve this text.   

    5. Use of the term dementia does not rule out those who suffer from related mind ailments  Dr Lennane to approve this text.     
        7.  There is a further category - those who suffer regular memory loss - who could be invited - Dr L to decide.

         8   "related mind ailments" would need to be defined.


3.3    Statistics
  1. Herefordshire has a population of 187,200, with a higher than average representation of older
    people.  here p 6

  3. In 2014/15, 1,428 people in Herefordshire had a diagnosis of dementia (GP Quality Outcomes Framework data, March 2015). here  p 34

  5. 187200/1428  = 0.79%

  7. By 2030, it is projected that Herefordshire will have around 5,000 persons aged 65+ years with dementia, an increase of 63 per cent from  3,100 in 2015.  ibid

  9. Check - 3100 is a big leap from 1428.  217%

  11. Even if the increase in 2016 is only 50%, the county figure is > 4,500.

  13. Spread them around  24  practices and each will have > c 180 persons aged 65+ years with dementia. 

  15. GP Practices - Alton Street -  10,537 patients     Pendeen  8,077 patients

  17. More here

3.2  Activities not requiring special equipment and materials 
  1. Singing.  We don't need to rely on instruments, song sheets, technology etc, and can enjoy benefiting from the unaccompanied human voice.  Song sheets used when singing the old favourites defeat attempts to remember.

  3. Discussion. A "What was on the news yesterday?"  B  "Who voted for "Brexit?" C "Should fox-hunting (etc) be banned outright?"  "What other things would you like to do?".  I am cautious about carees in the A, B, C contexts.

  5. Quizzes.  Five-item Q & A quizzes lead to "And what was the third question?"  Increase the number later.

  7. Chair exercise and normal exercise if all/most can stand.  Humming/singing  a tune at same time.  

  9. Line-dancing - humming/singing  a tune at same time.  Line-knitting  - photo 18

  11. Chinese whispers while the rest sing or hum.  Send reinforcements

  13.  Reminiscence stories

  15. Knit and natter including planning etc

  17. Planning etc within Shed talk

  19. Men and women together talk about planning,  gardening etc
Tip of iceberg - plenty more to come



3.3  Activities requiring equipment, printing, and materials        
  1. Can the table tennis equipment be used?

  3. The quoits?

  5. Anything else in stock?

 3.4   DIY-made equipment and materials

  3.4.1   The header graphic cheese
  1.  The header graphic cheese is costly and prone to puncture.  In mid-pilot, Shed Talk can be consulted.  A 4ft plywood piece is used and several holes are cut.  Yogurt pots/Tupperware pots are inserted.  Score values are painted.  A demountable strut is added to hold it an angle.  Without it, it rests on the floor according to who is using it.

  3. Cloth mice are made by the women.

  5. Teams compete.  Seen in use at Leominster, another way has not been used.  Members pair from within caree and carer groups.  The pairs compete and winners move up the finals progression to produce a caree champion and a carer champion.  Vols could also compete.   Prizes made while lunch prep takes place.

  7. The holey triangle is stripped of score-pots, suspended with string or placed at an angle on the floor.  Toy archery and/or sponge-bullet plastic guns used as in 5.  Foam-tipped plastic darts can be used.
  3.4.2  The bell game
  1. The commercial version is expensive

  3. A wooden box holds batteries and a very curly wire leads from them above the box. 

  5. A wire loop around the wire and on a wooden handle is slowly chased along the wire.

  7. A mistake rings the bell

  9. Commercial versions don't include plastic-tape markers at, say, 2 inch intervals, used to determine individual scores.  

  3.4.3  Name-badges and storage box
  1. See photos 13 & 14

  3. Shed talk can do better than AFH

  5. On Day 1, check all names prev supplied answering "What name do you like to be called?"

  7. Call for a member or vol to type names in large font

  9. AFH has lamination equip if needed.   Will bring name holders - only 50 p each in Colemans.

3.4.4  The game of Jenga
  1. Plenty of positive tension!  Photo 20

  3. Sets can cost £15.  Shed talk will need a budget of about 30% and possibly free as men habitually                        accumulate wood

  5. Similar and even cheaper - playing-card towers!  Wider participation at the same time.  Teams. Prizes made during lunch prep

3.4.5  The Feely Bag
  1. Several people makes several bags with two elasticated holes at the top here  - some look expensive

  3. Haven't looked at any of the links.  

  5. The bags contain small, feely items such as a large button, a small watch, a bottle top, an eraser, small key ring with three keys.

  7. Members take it in turn while the feel different bags at the same time and announce each item

  9. It is anticipated that nobody has done it this way:

  11. The bags have identical content

  13. Members take it turn to feel

  15. At the end and without saying at the start it will happen, members are given paper and pencil and record their list

  17. Vols and AFH will have decided how to proceed from there.  Lists collected?  Names on them?  Ask members to say what they have remembered if lists have been collected? Probably not.

  19. Now for ethics.  We need to hammer out policy on this type of activity if paper and names are collected and retained.  Members must not feel they are being tested for any reason.
  20.   
  21. The ideal is to do a few such "tests" early in the pilot and repeat them towards the end.  Has caree X made any progress?  Too short a time to be valid but interesting.  Plenty of time to decide.  If "yes", the wording of how it will work, given to carers before such an activity takes place, might end up in a tabloid.  

3.4.6 Make a simple scored-board for quoits



3.5  Various equipment and materials

  1. Balls and ball game equipment - often expensive. 

  3. There are balls which emit light and some flash.  Cheap if thought useful. 

  5. Bowling -  Shed Talk to come up with skittle boards which store easily
  7. Carpet putting & mini-golf

  9. Quoits, rings and discs for throwing games

  11. Small-size billiards, pool or snooker - donations via the initial PR - to add.  Ditto jigsaws.  Not on that page yet.

  13. Floor and wall games - sponge-tipped plastic darts - the home-made cheese - pairing face-down playing cards

  15. Card-making.  Could involve inventing funny people as in the header graphic

  17. Cut butterflies etc out of clear polythene, paint them and adorn the room with them.  Remove at 1505.

  19. See       Dreaming for our world   here

  21. Cube puzzles and Rubik's cubes here

  23. Not ready for a heading - Complicated equipment.  

  25. There are commercial 2ft plastic balls covered in "tasks" like "Sing a simple song", "Tell us about X" when the right hand arrives on them.  Expensive.  See   Links - Activities to share here

  27. We can buy large balloons and paint numbers on. We can derive our own "tasks".  

  29. There are balls which emit sounds or have textured surfaces.  Expensive.  

Tip of iceberg - plenty more to come
 

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