When someone is living we dementia we tend to look at how they are declining and where they are having difficulty. Orchard at Brookhaven is a new and dynamic senior living community in the Atlanta area that is focused on what people can do, and helps support people living with dementia or in need of assistance continue to be as active and in control of their lives as possible. In order for the staff to understand what someone can do, and how best to support them in their life, they must be trained and educated. The staff at Orchard will have intentional and directed on-going training to ensure that the residents in our community are supported and live a full life.

Many communities say that they provide and rich engagement program, however, on closer look, one may find that the activities that are provided look more like being on a cruise ship rather than living a fully engaged life. There are four categories of engagement to look for in senior living. Below is a short list to help determine if a community has a full engagement program.

Productive Engagement

Most people have been productive all of their life, going to work, raising a family, volunteering, etc. Are there opportunities to be productive and do these opportunities suit your interests and abilities?

Health and Wellness

Examples for health and wellness include:

• Exercise
• Meditation
• Spirituality
• Brain fitness
• Educational opportunities

Rest and Restoration

This area covers opportunities and spaces to relax.

Leisure

Examples of leisure include:

• Social activities
• Games
• Outings
• Concerts
• Performances/ guest entertainers

Music can be included in each one of these categories because music is often a big part of our life. Music can remind us of special days or events. It connects us with emotions, helps us energize and also reduces stress.

Music Benefits For Dementia

One of the specific things that Orchard will provide to the residents are specific music programs. Why music? Because music has many benefits.

• The part of the brain that involves music is less affected by dementia.
• Dementia stimulates memory
• People living with dementia are able to connect to music.
• People living with dementia are able to sing even when they are unable to speak.
• Music is a way to stay engaged and connected
• Rhythm is used to help people move and communicate.
• Music is connected to emotional memories.
• Music has been proven to reduce stress.

Read more about how music boosts brain activity here

Types of Music For Dementia

Not just any music will do. Music is individual.

Most people have strong connections to music from their teenage years and young adulthood because this is the time in life when big events happen and when our hormones are changing. So even if the events were not really big, they felt like big events.

• If someone was born in the 40’s, the music that they may resonate with the most will be music of the 50’s and 60’s.
• If someone has been part of a religious community, this music can be a significant part of their life.
• Music is individual and finding out which music a person likes is important.

An April 2018 study reports that “objective evidence from brain imaging shows personally meaningful music is an alternative route for communicating with patients who have Alzheimer’s disease.”

Orchard at Brookhaven believes it’s important to incorporate music for dementia care, and will incorporate the Music and Memory program. Music and Memory is an individual program designed to promote memories, engagement and a sense of well-being. Please contact us for more information about this program.

Holidays can be times filled with joy for many reasons, one being that we have the opportunity to participate in traditions. These traditions can be unique to our family, social organizations or groups, and community of faith. Traditions are kept for a reason. One of the best reasons to keep a tradition is because it fosters a sense of community, belonging, and connectedness. Often we are taught these traditions by our parents or grandparents, elders in our community, or family. So what happens when the people who have held and taught these time honored traditions begin to experience brain change? Do the changes and difficulties that can come with brain change impact our traditions? The answer is yes if we believe that our traditions must look the same to have the same outcome. But we all know that to help someone live well with brain change also means that those around them must do their best to make the necessary changes to help this happen.

How To Keep Holiday Traditions When Someone Has Dementia

Traditions can be extremely important to helping families living with brain change continue to stay connected and promote a sense of wellbeing within the family unit. This is also the case for social and religious communities. Because, after all, the most significant part of a tradition is connectedness.

If your family or community is experiencing brain change, meaning, if there is someone in that family or community who has brain change, then it will be important to look at the tradition and person with two sets of glasses.

One set of glasses is to look back at the past:

• What has been important to the person living with brain change?
• How they have participated in the tradition?
• Is person was and is an extrovert or introvert and if they liked being the leader or spectator of the tradition?
• Did they like to read the sacred story or say the prayers?
• Did they like to light the candles or put the star on top of the tree?
• Did they prepare the food or host the event?
• Who have they been and who are they now?

The other set of glasses is to look at the present person:

• Who are they now?
• How does the person living with brain change respond to crowds of people?
• Are they sensitive to light and noise?
• Are they able to manage being around a lot of conversation or would they rather be with just one person?
• What is their energy level and when would it be best to engage in an activity?
• What kind of assistance do they respond to and will the people around them be able to engage appropriately?

We also want to look at the tradition itself.

Visual Symbols, Sights & Sounds

Someone living with brain change will need more visual cues, less verbal communication, and they will also benefit from our ability to tap into what is retained long into the process of brain change which includes prayer, rhythm, music, and poetry. Old familiar songs are retained until end of life. Singing the first verse to a familiar song may seem repetitive to you but it allows the persons living with brain change a way to tap into emotions, have moments of joy, and connect to what has been important to them throughout their life. Does your tradition have these pieces and therefore opportunities for the person to be involved and connected?

Think of your tradition, who the person has always been, how they have changed, and where they can be involved and connected. Can a person who has prepared food all of their life be involved in the preparation even if it is in mixing up a bowl of cookies that we may never eat or to tell us if the food smells good? Can the person hold onto the star and tell you if you have placed it properly on top of the tree? Can they hold and hand you the candles as you light the menorah?

Traditions, time honored ways of connecting to what is important in our life, and ways in which we keep families and communities together, can be used to fill our days with meaning and find moments of joy when we keep in mind what is most valuable about life.

Take a few moments and think about the traditions that you have in the holiday seasons ahead and plan for adjustments that will make your tradition be special. Remember that we have the healthy brains and are the ones that will be able to make the adjustments and changes that will help the person living with brain change continue to be connected to the traditions and people that they love.

Dementia – Evaluating & Adjusting Your Tradition

Questions to think about ahead of time as you prepare for a holiday season with brain change:

• Who is the person living with brain change?
• What kind of brain change is present? Abilities, needs such as different ways of communicating, assistance needed and ways to be engaged.
• What is happening with health and wellness?
• Are there new physical challenges that will need some adjustments like time of day, energy level, medication interaction, and/or side effects that may change someone’s ability to be part of the tradition?
• Who has been involved and what was their participation?
• Does any of this require adjustments and what would those adjustments look like?
• Can the person living with dementia participate in the same way or do they require the just right assistance so that they still feel valued and important?
• Is the environment friendly, familiar, functional, and forgiving?
• What are the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the environment, and will they be overwhelming to the person living with brain change or can you modify them to help make the experience positive?

Finally, we want to think about time:

• The time of day and is it the best time of day for the person living with dementia?
• What is their energy level and need for rest?
• How will you help the person living with dementia transition into and out of the tradition and what will the flow of the day look like?

Remember that we all like to spend our days in a combination of rest, wellness, productivity, and leisure. For the person living with dementia, being able to spend time in all four of these ways of engagement is important as well. However, people living with brain change will need assistance for this to happen and for them to spend as little time waiting for us to help them stay engaged is of vital importance.

Our relationships and connectedness to who and what holds value and meaning can remain a source of joy when we take into account what we know about our past, when we make accommodations for and celebrate our present, and when we acknowledge and adjust for our future. The staff of Orchard at Brookhaven hope that you have a wonderful season of meaningful and happy traditions and invite you on December 12 at 7:00 pm to Strategies to Increase Joy and Decrease Stress during the holidays. This special session will be Led by Executive Director, Leslie Finkley, who is a dementia specialist.

There are a lot of communities that say they provide dementia support. Many of these communities are called Memory Care because one of the abilities that changes when someone is living with dementia is that they lose recent information and memory. But what makes a good dementia care community and what questions do you want to be sure to ask when interviewing a potential Memory Care community in Atlanta? Below are categories of questions and tips to consider when searching for a dementia care community in Atlanta.

Purpose of the Community

Here are some things to consider in regards to purpose for memory care communities:

• What is the mission of the community?
• What will I see in this community that is consistent with this mission?
• Where are the offices of the leadership and how often will I see them in the living areas when visiting the community?

Staffing

Here are some things to consider in regards to staffing for memory care communities:

• What is the retention rate of staff?
• What is the ratio of staff to resident and does this exceed the state and national standard?
• What is the training for the staff and does this exceed the state and national standard?
• Is there continuing education for the staff?
• What can I expect to see from the staff when supporting my loved one?
• What qualifications do the different staff roles have and does this exceed the state standard?
• Does the staff ratio vary on different shifts?
• What does the staffing look like on weekends?
• Are there opportunities for staff to engage with families?
• Is there consistency of support from staff with the residents that is supported in their schedule and assignments?
• Does that staff do more than personal and medical care such as various types of engagement opportunities throughout the day?
• Who from the staff communicates with the family and how often?

Additional Support

Here are some general things to consider about memory care communities:

• What outside services are provided and is this included in our monthly fee?
• When is additional support needed?
• Who provides this support?
• What is the cost of this support?
• Is the family notified if additional support is needed?
• What is the procedure when a resident may be in need of additional support?

Engagement

Engagement is an important part for dementia support, here are some things to consider when searching for a memory care community in Atlanta:

• What is the staffing that provide engagement for the residents?
• Are the families provided the schedule for the month?
• Are families encouraged to participate in celebrations and daily activities?
• Are the residents provided the opportunity to be engaged in activities that promote well-being; leisure, rest, health and wellness and productive activities?
• Does the programming reflect individual preferences, and skills?
• What is the method to discover and match these preferences and skills?

Security

Many dementia support communities in Atlanta state that they are secure, but what does that really mean?

• What are the measures that the community has to ensure security and safety when someone is living with dementia?
• Is the community secure with locked doors that have access to the outside?
• Is there a pass code?
• Do the doors open when pressure is maintained on the door?

There are a lot of variables to consider when looking at senior living in Atlanta. Orchard at Brookhaven is an intentional community that is being developed to provide the best dementia support in Atlanta. We are also committed to being a community resource and welcome any and all inquiries for assistance and support with your search to find the community that is right for you.