Diversional Therapists, and Lifestyle Coordinators and Officers
Develop, coordinate and deliver individualised and group based recreational, lifestyle and leisure-based activities to support, challenge and enhance the psychological, spiritual, social, emotional and physical wellbeing of individuals and groups primarily in health care and aged care homes.
A Friday plan that keeps changing
You are a lifestyle coordinator at an aged care home, with a full activity program planned for Friday and a small team of volunteers. It is 9am. The outing to the lake is tomorrow, and the bus has just been cancelled because the driver is unwell. Residents have been talking about it all week.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I heard the lake trip is off. I have been looking forward to it since last month. I told my daughter to meet me there. Is it true? Are you just going to say sorry and give us bingo instead?
Tell Ivy you are planning something that brings a little of the lake to the home
You are honest about the cancellation and ask Ivy what she loved most about the lake. A picnic in the courtyard, with her daughter invited, is ready the next day. It is not the lake, and it is something.
Reassure her that the trip will go ahead another day soon, even though you are not sure
Ivy brightens, but there is no new date. Weeks later she asks again, and you have nothing to tell her. A hopeful promise you cannot keep takes away more than it gives.
Apologise sincerely and offer bingo or a film in the lounge as a fair replacement
Ivy accepts it politely, but you can see she is flat. The afternoon runs smoothly, but it is the same program as any other day. Asking her what mattered would have given you a better idea.
I have brought my guitar for the singalong. I thought we would do the old war songs, they always go down well. Some of the staff say not to, but I think it is good for them to remember. What do you think?
Let Gordon go ahead, because many residents enjoy those songs and he is giving his own time freely
Most of the room sings along, but one resident leaves in tears. It was a good-hearted choice with a cost for one person. A little checking beforehand would have avoided it.
Ask care staff who might find those songs upsetting, then offer Gordon a mix
Staff mention two residents with hard memories. Gordon plays a mix of old favourites, and the room sings. He listens without offence. Looking after people means knowing their stories.
Ask Gordon to stick to light, modern songs so there is no risk of upsetting anyone at all
The songs are pleasant, but several residents sit in silence because nothing in them is theirs. Playing it safe removed what made the session meaningful for them. Avoiding all risk is not the same as caring.
Staffing is tight this week and we have a few residents who need extra help getting to activities. Can you cut the program in half for a while and just run the main session each day, so I can use you on the floor?
Agree to cut the program in half and help on the floor with no further discussion
Pam gets the help she needs, and residents notice the quiet afternoons. Some of the activities that mattered most are gone. You helped in a pinch, but without a plan to protect what was important.
Tell Pam you cannot cut anything because activities are essential to wellbeing
You are right about the importance, but Pam is left with a staffing problem and nobody on her side. A flat refusal made you an obstacle rather than a colleague.
Offer to help on the floor, and agree with Pam which sessions matter most to protect
You keep two sessions that matter most to the residents and help on the floor for the rest. Pam sees you as part of the team, and the plan is reviewed when staffing recovers.
How it went
By the end of the week the courtyard picnic had been enjoyed, Gordon had a short list of songs, and Pam had help. This work asks you to see each person as a whole life, not an activity list, and to keep finding what matters to them. Would you enjoy that?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The market gardener who stopped coming
A fictional case set in the activities room and courtyard of a residential aged care home.
The situation
Chidi was the lifestyle coordinator at a home called Willow Grove. A resident named Mr Petrakis had moved in a month earlier. He had been a market gardener for most of his life but now stayed in his room, refused bingo and the singing group, and told staff he was not interested in anything. His family were worried, and the other staff had stopped asking him to come out.
What they did
Chidi sat with Mr Petrakis for a few afternoons without suggesting any activity at all and simply asked about his life. When the garden came up, his face changed. Chidi borrowed some pots and a bag of soil, set up a table near the courtyard window, and asked if he could help her with some seedlings because she did not know what she was doing. He said she was doing everything wrong, and then pulled up a chair.
How it turned out
Within a month Mr Petrakis was running a small seed table twice a week, and two other residents joined him. Chidi was careful to say it did not fix everything. He still had low days, and some days he still wanted to stay in his room, and that was his choice.
What would you do?
- Why do you think the usual activities did not work for him?
- How would you start a conversation with someone who says they are not interested in anything?
- What is the difference between getting someone to join in and giving them something worth joining?