June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month. At SpringBrook, we offer cognitively appropriate group activities in our Memory Care Unit (CBRF) twice a day, every weekday. However, there are times when even the calmest group activity is too much for someone. In those instances, we will provide One-on-One activities whenever possible.

A one-on-one visit is an individualized and personalized activity created specifically for an individual. It is an activity with just two people (the resident and an Activity Aide) in a quiet setting (usually the resident’s apartment) that doesn’t overstimulate or make the person feel uncomfortable. They focus on personalized interests, needs, or skills of the person with dementia. It is important to know residents’ likes and dislikes so the visits are meaningful. Someone might require a one-on-one visit for various reasons: cognitive impairments, being introverted, being a historic loner, physical limitations, or even depression.

Here at SpringBrook, our Memory Care Activity Coordinator does a thorough activity assessment on each CBRF resident upon admission. During an activity assessment, residents and families are interviewed and asked questions about past and current interests; hobbies, work history, religious affiliation, social activities, community involvement/volunteerism, family connections, emotional and social needs/patterns, physical abilities and limitations, and adaptations that may be necessary for the resident to participate in activities.

The assessment helps us craft individualized activities that will bring joy and also stimulate older neural pathways. Here are just a few examples of our individualized one-on-one activities that take place in our memory units at SpringBrook: word, color, picture and pattern recognition, reading, finish the phrase, career topics, five senses, reminiscing about meaningful subjects, hand massages, listening, singing, or dancing to music, prayer, daily devotions, spending time outdoors, playing cards, and board games, just to name a few.

If you have a friend or loved one at SpringBrook who typically does better socializing with just one or two other people (rather than a large group), let the Activity staff know this. It is one of the many ways we can help to make our residents’ experiences at SpringBrook more positive and joyful.