The vital role that sensory stimulation plays in dementia care

This can leave an individual feeling cut off from the world around them.

By continuing to stimulate these senses, however, even those living with advanced forms of dementia can find positive memories and emotions in everyday life and objects. These stimulations also help them to remain mentally and emotionally connected with their loved ones.

This is why, in dementia care, creating sensory environments and activities is a key part of what we do at Guild Care. We want to ensure people living with dementia can feel safe and comfortable, while also boosting their mood and well-being.

In Haviland House and Linfield House, the two homes where we provide expert dementia care, we stimulate residents’ senses in several ways.

Haviland House’s Ashmount Garden Room has been designed to help bring the feelings of a garden indoors. The room features planting tables, garden murals, hanging wicker baskets and a potting shed – so we like to get residents involved in helping tend the plants and repotting every few months.

When the weather warms up, the team also like to take residents outdoors, where they can enjoy the sights and sounds of our beautiful gardens as well as sit in the sensory summer house. For those living with advanced dementia, Haviland House has its own sensory space indoors too, which features lights and calming music.

As part of our services, we provide NAMASTE hand massage therapy – which we find often works well for individuals on palliative care, some of whom may have lost speech and sight due to dementia. These sessions are person-centered, focused on bringing back memories from before a person had dementia, by playing a song from their favourite artist or using the smell of a perfume they once wore.

We’ve also invested in a number of lifelike robotic dogs and cats, to ensure that residents can enjoy the boost to mental health that a pet brings, without the energy that is required to look after one. They provide many residents with a sense of purpose, as people will give their cat or dog a name and build a connection with it as if they are its owner.

Residents love it when the ‘real’ Pets as Therapy dogs come to visit our care homes too. We often find that stroking and playing with these animals helps to bring back memories of the beloved pets that they once had.

To find out more about our expert dementia care, call our customer enquiries team on 01903 327327 or email [email protected].

• This article was submitted by Kerri Sparrowe, care needs co-ordinator at Guild Care