One way to enter the world of a person with Alzheimer's disease is with horticulture therapy. This therapy allows the person to connect to his past, present and future by being involved in simple familiar respecful activities. Usually horticulture therapy is done with plants. From my experience as a garden therapist for over ten years I have found that this activity can be broadened to include other areas such as recycling. This article will describe the goals, methods and results of a therapeutic recycling project with people who have Alzheimer's disease.
At Melabev there are elders with different stages of Alzheimer's disease therefore each activity is adapted to the needs and abilities of each group member. This can be done easily with horticulture therapy where the concentration is placed on the persons abilities and not on their loses.
Therapeutic goals of a horticulture session:
-Allowing group members to participate in a group activity that encourages group interaction.
-Allowing group members a feeling of giving to the community and to future generations.
-Giving group members a feeling of an improvement of self esteem.
-Allowing group members to participate in an enjoyable, respecful, calm activity.
- Allowing group members to participate in an activity that works on fine motor coordination and exercises muscles, all in order to preserve physical function of the client.
-Allowing group members to learn new skills.
In order to help readers better understand the therapeutic process I will describe an opportunity that came my way in the Melabev center in Pisgat Zeev. There were 3 old , worn out wood tables that were going to be discarded with the hope that eventually a budget would be available to purchase new tables. I saw a way to use this situation in a therapeutic way.
Since most people with dementia or Alzheimer's disease do not have many chances to make choices since people decide for them so many thingss ( i.e. what to wear, what to eat ....). I therefore asked the group what in their oppinion was the best thing to do with the old tables. the main ideas that were put forth were - to just ignore the fact that they were broken and continue to use them as is, to throw them out and buy new ones, to keep them and improve them (i.e . recycle them). The group decided unanimously to recycle them. That's how an 8 week project of recycling began.
First the group needed a working strategy and a plan for the recycling. A design was chosen after the group saw the options of different colored ceramic tiles. One table was designed with a leaf motif because of things in the garden that were around the work area.
Throughout all the work I was careful to maintain a calm pleasant atmosphere, where I gave the group members a lot of positive encouragement. The work area was organized to make it easier for the members to participate and I broke the activity into small easy steps. I gave clear step by step instructions, demonstrating how to do each process.
The group members were very proud of their accomplishments as seen from their comments. One member stood up straight and high and said " I made that table " when she was shown a picture of the finished table. Another member said that he was the one who broke all the ceramic tile with a hammer- since that is a job for men. Staff members were very impressed with the final products and the tables are displayed and used in some of our centers. They give the centers a classy look. The tables will be auctioned off at Melabev's benefit screening of the movie Singin in the Rain Feb. 3, 2010. Don't miss the opportunity to have one of these tables in your living room and to encourage the members of Melabev in their creative endeavers. Anyone who can't make the auction and would like to order a specific design for a table can call 03-5833555.
People with Alzheimer's disease and other memory decline are constantly dealing with changes and losses - with recycling they can make a change and leave a monument for future generations educating them to the importance of preserving our environment.
In summary: recycling is a positive therapeutic experience for people with Alzheimer's disease which meets many goals including: a creative outlet, empowering the group, increasing their self esteem and the esteem that others including their caregivers and above all it is a pleasant group activity that gives the elders a feeling of belonging to a group and contributing to society. Recycling gives hope to elders who may ask themselves what is the meaning of their life? What are they living for? What do they have left to do and what can they still do given all their limitations due to their illnes. With this project they see that they can create something for the next generation .
