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Doll Therapy

Doll therapy involves offering dolls (or mechanical cats) to adults who are living with dementia, with the goal of improving their comfort, engagement, and quality of life. Adults who have been caregivers throughout their lives are often particularly impacted by doll therapy because caring for others is such a significant part of who they are. Reinforcing the caregiver aspect of their identity brings them comfort, joy, and purpose.

Laundry Sorting & Folding

Many people did household chores growing up or as an adult. Sorting and folding laundry is a familiar activity that helps validate someone’s identity as a contributor to the household. Folding clothing protectors or towels gives residents an opportunity to continue to contribute to their home, while folding children’s clothing can bring back memories and feelings of caring for their family.

Baking Traditional Items

Many residents and tenants who choose to live at Radiant Care have a Mennonite heritage or they spent a lot of time preparing food for their families, so baking is very familiar to them.

Tabor Manor hosts a perishky baking program every Thursday morning, which engages interested residents and tenants in preparing a delicious traditional Mennonite treat: apple perishky.

Familiar Tasks

Engaging individuals in activities that are familiar and meaningful to them helps them experience mastery and purpose. We ask residents and tenants (and sometimes their families) about their skills, interests and hobbies. We use this knowledge to facilitate activities that enable them to continue to use their skills and pursue new or existing interests.

Musical Programs

Music reaches into the soul. Many people come alive when they hear a familiar song or favourite hymn. We offer various opportunities for residents and tenants to enjoy and participate in musical experiences. Some of these include:

• Chapel services
• Sing-a-longs
• Musical performance groups & guest singers
• Music therapy
• Java Music Club

Intergenerational Programs

Many people who live at Radiant Care enjoy interacting with children. For some, visiting with children reminds them of their children, grandchildren or their own childhood, and for some it simply brings them joy to interact with little ones.

Providing seniors with opportunities to interact with children, teenagers, and young adults ensures a vibrant atmosphere in which people, both young and old, are valued, can share their stories and experiences, and learn from one another.

Roles & Routines

We help individuals find meaningful roles within our homes based on their history, interests, and abilities. Some examples include setting the table, watering plants, folding laundry, caring for babies/pets, working at a desk, and shredding paper. Filling familiar roles and doing familiar routines help individuals experience mastery and a sense of contribution. Looking forward to completing a fulfilling routine provides some people with a purpose to get up and go each day.

Serving/Giving Back

Many people who live at Radiant Care have spent much of their lives building and supporting their families, churches, and communities, and they continue to do so. This is a big part of who they are as people and, in many cases, as Christians. To continue giving back, some residents and tenants have initiated or gotten involved in serving people in our local and global communities through various initiatives such as knitting hats and mittens for students at a neighbouring school, hosting a food drive to collect food for Community Care to distribute to the Niagara community, and packing boxes for Operation Christmas Child so children living in desperate situations oversees can feel their love through a Christmas gift.

Dog Therapy

Therapy dogs visit Radiant Care to offer comfort, joy, and acceptance to residents who wish to pet, cuddle, and talk to them. The friendly attention and unconditional love of these four-legged volunteers is always greatly appreciated.

Visits

At Radiant Care, we value relationships. We believe that getting to know who an individual was and is, is important to be able to connect on a deeper level. One of the ways we foster relationships is by connecting residents and tenants with volunteers who share their interests or who want to learn more about them through one-on-one friendly visits.

Virtual Reality

Our MyndVR virtual reality headsets open the door to a variety of new and familiar experiences that are not limited by one’s physical or cognitive abilities. Residents and tenants are able to have meaningful participation in a virtual intervention that stimulates them emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually. Staff assist residents and tenants in choosing virtual reality experiences that are tailored to their unique histories and interests, which could include travelling to Italy, watching a Broadway show, or enjoying some time on the farm.

Storytelling

Staff have been using whimsical photos to spark creativity and bring meaning and joy through engaging storytelling. Making up stories together allows residents to use their imagination, and it shifts the pressure away from the expectation of memory.

Puzzling

Puzzles provide an opportunity for residents and tenants to participate in a familiar activity that is relaxing and enjoyable, while also stimulating them mentally and often socially. The half-completed puzzles set up throughout our homes are typically social gathering points around which multiple residents and tenants will gather for hours of chatting while they work together to complete the puzzle.