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Sensory Activation for Seniors
ZICHOVÁ, Eliška
Numerous approaches are used for sensory activation of seniors, including multisensoric activation performed by enriched space of Snoezelen rooms or by Montessori techniques. Positive effects of multisensoric activation on the psychic and emotional state of seniors were reported and this is also true for seniors with Alzheimer dementia. An important component of multisensoric stimulation is the interpersonal contact between the senior and the person performing activation program. The theoretical part of my bachelor thesis was aimed to describe particular techniques of sensory activation and their use and benefits for seniors. The aim of the practical part was to find the most appropriate forms of sensory activation (focused to particular senses) which can be used for the seniors living in the Nursing Home for Seniors Bethesda in Prague. The satisfaction of seniors with various forms of sensory activation was also evaluated. Qualitative research was performed in nine seniors (eight women and one man aged 65-93 years) between April and July 2014. The health and social documentation available in Bethesda senior home revealed that the values of Mini-Mental Sate Examination (MMSE) found in these seniors were in the range between 12-27 points. Each senior participated in 10 activation sessions, each consisting of four different tasks focused on particular senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste). It was evident from my research that most of the tasks (except of text type recognition) were found to be appropriate for sensory activation of seniors in both individual or group activation programs. However, repeated task explanation, assistance of graphical clues and increased patience were necessary preconditions for the success of seniors with lower MMSE values. The tasks oriented on the touch were better evaluated by seniors than the tasks directed to other senses. It was evident that the tasks requiring the search of the links between presented objects as well as the tasks considering the type of reproduced text or song names were found to be rather complicated. These tasks were especially difficult for seniors with lower MMSE. I have also seen some difficulties in the tasks related to the taste and/or smell because these senses were attenuated in certain seniors. However, when I examined the tasks based upon a multisensoric stimulation (sweet dessert preparation), I was surprised by a good performance of all seniors irrespective of their sense defects or lower MMSE. Therefore it is necessary to care about the broad variety of the tasks included into the activation program and to adapt the demands of such programs to capabilities of participating seniors. Obtained results about sensory activation might be utilized in the care of seniors in nursing homes to improve their free time utilization. It might also facilitate the integration of seniors into their new living and social environment. This could support the maintenance of their personal, social and factual integrity.
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