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We spoke to the activities team at Southlands Place, part of the Caring Homes group – Ginny Hayes, Louise Froud and Aimee Le Beau – and heard incredible stories from one non-verbal resident who rediscovered his voice to another who’s challenging behaviour is managed through interactive projector sessions.
Use of the Happiness Programme
We’re using it with around 50% of our residents – 20 or so with a wide range of differing care needs. Because of their care needs, we tend to use it in 1-2-1 sessions (rather than in groups) and project the sensory games onto walls and ceilings. It’s used every day.
Hearing about ‘A’, a resident who’s room bound…
‘A’ uses it a lot because he’s in bed a lot of the time. When he came to us, he was non-verbal and very contracted. When we first used it, we put the hot air balloons on the ceiling and he was really animated. Moment before, he’d been very withdrawn. He uses the interactive projector most days now. He can have it in his room for hours at a time, providing him with stimulation and sensory experience. On one occasion, he had it in his room for the entire day.
We use the ceiling playlist – where games suited to projecting on to ceilings auto-play on loop. As a result, you can really start to see him relax – his hands were gripped tight to his chest and now they are relaxed.
A couple of weeks after him being here and using the interactive projector, he spoke. He has since spoken to his family started saying the odd word – saying yes and smiling. He’s been trying to assist himself to take a drink as well, something he wasn’t doing before.
Some of the other Southlands Place residents
We’ve also used it with another resident called ‘K’. He’s living with dementia and can get quite confused as to where he is and what he’s doing. As a result, he can get quite frustrated and the interactive projector has proven a brilliant distraction technique for him. He plays on it a couple of times a week and is fully focused on the games when using it. He likes Spot the Ball, in particular. He was on the drug Lerazapam but the care team have now stopped giving that to him thanks to the results we’ve seen. It’s been a useful therapeutic intervention.
‘J’ is a gentleman we have who is partially sighted. He’s really benefited from the bright colours and large visuals – he can see the bubbles popping for example. Other than music (he loves to dance and sing) this is the only thing he has engaged with.
And then there’s ‘C’. She’s no longer with us but she used it a lot. We used it as palliative care with her right until the end. When it is end of life the only things that you can do for them is to make them comfortable. We used the sunset, sunrise and hot air balloon games. It was vital relaxation for her when she needed it.
How it’s used elsewhere in the home
Some of the music and soundtracks on the interactive projector have been brilliant. Everyone loves listening to the waves crashing on the beach or the sound of birdsong.
Generally, we’ve found it be something very different to our other activities. It’s impact on those who are bed-bound has been really significant.
The ladies on our ground floor have become very, very competitive with the air hockey game and it’s proven an effective social activity for them.
It is hugely beneficial and we really want to keep it.
Not a member of the happiness programme?
The Happiness Programme is a first-of-its-kind initiative helping to change the lives of people living with cognitive challenges. We use interactive light technology to provide meaningful activities for residents and patients in care homes and care settings. For more detail on what the Happiness Programme is and how it’s helping care venues across the UK, visit our getting started page.
Alternatively, jump to our dementia, learning disability, rehabilitation and NHS pages for more specific detail on how it’s helping care homes like Barchester and HC-One as well as hospitals and local authorities such as St George’s Hospital, London and Westminster and South Kensington Council.
For anything else, you can contact us here too.
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