Atlas Coffee Mill 4/25/13 Memory Cafe

Hello Everyone!
Yesterday I attended the memory cafe at the Atlas Coffee Mill as part of our participant observation project. As usual the event was wonderful and now reflecting back on it the experience really showed  me how important this research is so we can have a better understanding of the dynamics of memory cafes and gain a better sense of what works and what people would like to see.
At this meeting we had some students who developed a type of memory game where they gave clues and everyone had to fill in the blank for a phrase or oldies tune. For example, "the _____ does not fall far from the tree" and then a picture of an apple was present. It was very fun and everyone seemed to enjoy guessing and singing along to the tunes in particular. We also had wonderful introduction and goodbye songs that John McFadden played I believe a ukulele to. What a great ice breaker that was! It was so fun to sing along!
As part of our observation task, I overheard a few comments on how some wished the cafes had more educational or informational components to them. One person had a suggestion of having a game/activity and then after an informational portion with tips to help with memory loss and the science behind it. I thought this was a wonderful idea and definitely something for us to talk about at our next meeting!


Heather

April 15, 2013, Neenah Public Library

I apologize for how terrible this picture is but at least you can see that we had a music program complete with a grand piano! The woman leading the program is Christy Feuerstahler.  She is the person who's been hired part time by Valley VNA to lead their "Lyrics and Laughter" program for people with dementia.  They got the idea from a talk John and I gave some time ago about "Singing for the Brain," a program in England (you can Google it to see clips of it).  The program at Valley VNA has been so successful, they've now added another session.  Christy is very talented both in playing the piano and in leading a group of singers.  She understands folks with dementia.  All of the songs were familiar and she made sure they had lots of repetition.  Also, she used a lot of motions (clapping, stamping feet, etc.).  She also brought bells and egg shakers as rhythm instruments that we used for some of the songs.

There were 28 people there this afternoon:  10 participants, 9 care partners, 6 volunteers, and 3 guests.  Nine of the participants were men; one was a woman (although I think it's hard to tell and it's possible I've made a mistake).  There were 2 adult children.

I sat out in my car afterwards and wrote down as much as I could on our checklist; it does seem to work well.  I had a bit of trouble seeing everyone since we were sitting at 4 different tables.

I was able to help one woman and her husband on their way out.  She'd been told about a program by someone at the Neuroscience Group.  She thought it was "senior care" and asked me about it.  It turns out it was "family care" which is run by the Aging and Disability Resource Center.  I was able to find a phone number for her to call.  It was a good reminder of how doctors and others give people lots of information but if it's not written down, people get confused.

I liked what one man told me about singing:  "I only sing when there are others to drown me out."

Having the puzzles on the table is a good way to start talking to people.  I sat with one couple as the cafe began and they had put together a puzzle of a map of the USA.  We talked about different states they have visited.  They live in Neenah and this was the first time they had come to a cafe.  When they heard that one is opening in Menasha, they wanted to know where that one is.  People are so hungry for this kind of social contact.