Reminiscence is essentially a way of communicating.
Alison Malcolm
Bloxham Day Services and Warwickshire Reminiscence Action Project (WRAP) are celebrating the success of working together to train Jennie Russ, a Support Worker at the Day Service in Rugby, to deliver Reminiscence to people with learning disabilities.
Heather Copland, a WRAP trainer worked with Jennie Russ and six people with learning disabilities over a period of eight weeks. During this time the participants got to experience Reminiscence first hand, and at the same time Jennie underwent training to be able to lead Reminiscence sessions.
Alison Malcolm, Manager of Bloxham Day Services, which is part of Warwickshire County Council’s Day Service provision for adults with learning disabilities, said:
“Reminiscence is essentially a way of communicating. It is about tapping into our senses through sound, smell, taste, sight and touch. Research shows it is an effective way of working with people with memory problems and early onset dementia, however, together with WRAP we have pushed the boundaries and found it a really effective way of working with people with sensory and communication difficulties.
Mike Strophair, Company Secretary for WRAP said:
“It has been an exciting opportunity to move in to a new field as it is the first time we have trained someone to deliver Reminiscence to people with learning disabilities. It is obvious from the feed back from all those involved that it has been a great success.”
Councillor Sue Peach, Mayor of Rugby presented Jennie and the course participants with certificates. She said:
“It's a wonderful project, Jennie has obviously worked hard and the participants seem to have benefited enormously.”