Philip Y. Kao PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

Abby suffered from severe dementia, and at first I didn’t know how to even
communicate with him. His sentence patterns and references were erratic and all over
the place. Jared said to me later on, “Don’t worry about conveying any message to him.
Just get him to mumble and talk. As long as he’s using energy, that will keep him alive.”
When I first interacted with the residents in Memory Care, I recalled thinking to myself
how can I even do fieldwork with ‘these people’. The caregivers don’t seem to have any
meaningful conversations with the residents. There is just so much silence, mumbling
and sitting in front of the television. When I was talking to Abby he could not answer the
simplest questions about the time of day or when dinner was. Abby pointed to the lamp,
and said it was trying to tell me something.
Jared from the recreation department spent all of his time with the Memory Care
residents in the afternoon. He was a fan of Perry Como, and during music appreciation
hour, he often played music that he thought was reminiscent for the residents. Most of
them did not care for his music selection, but when it came to playing Christmas music,
even when it was springtime, the residents would happily sing along to every song,
word for word. The residents also talked a lot about the weather. The windows in the
common living room area in memory Care were larger than the windows in the other
common areas of Tacoma Pastures. Many of the residents commented that the weather
looked awful outside, and that in a sense they were glad to be inside where it was safe.
Changing topics, the balloon game was a well-liked activity. Residents sat in a circle in
the common living area. Once they were in position, Jared would tap a large bouncy
balloon in someone’s direction. The residents in Memory Care loved this ‘game’, because
it gave them the opportunity to laugh at people’s reactions, especially when a soft
balloon hit someone square on the head. They commented on each other’s bounces and
throws, and waved their hands in eager anticipation for the balloon. One of the
residents announced, “Oh my head!” when the balloon struck his head. Everyone,
including him, laughed. On one occasion, Jared even had me play some disco music from
the computer to accompany our game of bouncing the balloon around. The residents
enjoyed the game, because a little flick of the foot or a small touch, could produce a large
department as a way to acknowledge, even if superficially and occasionally, that lying in
bed may accentuate debilitation and enfeeblement.
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