Bring back memories: NSW program aimed at Aussies with dementia

Key points:

• The Australian National Maritime Museum has offered new sessions aimed at people with dementia and their carers, to promote story-sharing and encourage social interaction
• New research found that people aged 60 years and older who don’t remain active may be at greater risk of dementia
• The Maritime Museum program schedule includes: ‘Swimming and the Beach,’ ‘Suitcases and Travel,’ along with ‘Ships and Ropes’

Seniors and their carers have been encouraged to come out and get involved with a new program to evoke memories in people with dementia. The Australian National Maritime Museum’s ‘Seaside Stories’ sessions will run on the first Wednesday of each month from 10am to 12pm.

Seaside Stories are themed, hands-on reminiscence sessions where visitors can touch and hold museum objects. Museum educators — trained in dementia communication — are set to ask questions and guide discussion. Participants are encouraged to share their personal recollections, stories and experiences in a safe and welcoming space.

The program, which includes a morning tea, concludes with an educator-led tour of the exhibitions. Tours are carefully planned to cater for participants’ sensory preferences and mobility needs. Portable seating is also guaranteed to be available throughout the tour.

Positive reception has also been rolling in for the work of educators in the programs themselves, according to Museum Director and Chief Executive Officer Ms Daryl Karp.

“The feedback we have received has been so positive. The trained educators work carefully with participants helping to tease out memories,” Ms Karp explained.

“What results are powerful and important experiences for both the participant and their carer. Each of us, regardless of our age, have stories to tell and share.”

In June, a study was published which outlined the benefits of storytelling design in residential care settings, alongside a review which attested to the importance of life story assessment in person-centred care.

The three programs scheduled for 2023 included:

Swimming and the Beach — participants share memories of swimming and visiting the sea; learning about the voyage of Kay Cottee — the world’s first woman to circumnavigate the world alone, without stopping, without assistance, by way of both hemispheres.

Suitcases and Travel — a tour through the Passengers exhibition, with its large-scale model of the 1937 ocean liner SS Orcades, which brought migrants to Australia.

Ships and Ropes — a real sailor’s paradise which is perfect for an older person who took to the seas or came by boat; holding binoculars, touching ropes and guided along a tour of the waterfront.

Note: due to the vessel design and walkways on the vessels, wheelchair access is not available.

Reminiscence is one of the four key forms for approaching communication and therapy for a person with dementia, along with: validation therapy, music therapy and through creating memory books.

Seaside Stories has tapped into that sense of reminiscence to look back fondly and with nostalgia for the past — giving people with a connection to the ocean or of migrating to Australia a way to hold important objects.

Dementia Australia has urged carers to know that whilst reminiscence is a positive form of communication, even supporting nonverbal people with dementia, it may lead memories, whether good or bad, to arise and sensitivity should be considered.

To book your tickets, find out more and think back to the good ol’ days, please visit the Australian National Maritime Museum online. After future events, news and information for yourself or a loved one? Subscribe to the Talking Aged Care newsletter to keep up to date.