Increasing the ability to recall life events in dementia care

"When we were growing up, dad grew flowers for the Easter show and my job was to count every petal on the smaller buds. He used to grow snow peas too, all along the side of the house. They grew all the way up to the roof!”

People’s artistic, imaginative and emotional responses can remain strong for years after the onset of dementia. As cognitive abilities deteriorate, creative inhibitions decrease too.
I've found this to be the case when I run my Fairy in a bell jar craft and was initially surprised by the number of men who were engaged by this activity (my residents are former war veterans.) Their frustrations and agitations would soon start to ease as we began by listening to Celtic fairy songs and smelling fresh flowers.
Colouring in is a childhood activity and an ability that many people remember and retain. Sometimes we finish up this activity with a little fairy themed poetry, but it's the stories that people share and remember along the way that is the real highlight of this childhood like reminiscence craft.