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The aim was to provide a discussion group activity for a selected number of attenders with early or moderate dementia using film and photography as stimulus material. All the participants nominated had the activity explained to them and agreed to take part.
We called it ‘Going to the Pictures’ because we wanted the concept to be familiar and unthreatening, and we were lucky enough to have a room available which could be blacked out so that the environment of a cinema could be simulated. The centre has excellent video and DVD equipment and a large screen television so that technically the stage was set for a good experience.
Each of the four one-hour sessions provided for each group followed the same pattern: two video extracts followed by discussion (with appropriate action replays to bring out details), and two segments looking at photographs, one of which involved single large reproductions being passed round the group for comments, and the other a photograph for each member of the group to look at, then describe to the rest of the group before it was passed round. All the photographs were gleaned from newspapers and magazines and were sturdy –--mounted on card and laminated. The photography and video segments were alternated for the sake of variety.
I had already decided that this was not to be a reminiscence project. I wanted to see how people reacted to materials which were unfamiliar. So none of the photographs were of local scenes or people, and none of the video extracts came from films which the participants were likely to know. Examples of videos used were the Jacques Tati films ‘Jour De Fete’ and ‘Mon Oncle’, the film ‘Saltimbanco’ from Cirque Du Soleil, experimental shorts by the Canadian film-maker Norman McLaren, and the BBC nature film ‘Deep Blue’.
By the fourth session in each group it was increasingly difficult for me to keep to the plan I had for the session. This was because the contributions from the participants became more fulsome, and there were far more interchanges. Where the individuals were concerned, by the second session in each group everyone was playing a full part. I had not expected this, but at the end of every session all the participants spontaneously thanked me for inviting them, said they had enjoyed themselves, and asked if they could come again. One lady in Group Two had been coming to the centre for three years and had never settled in a group before. By the second session she had ceased squirming in her chair and asking the time and was fully engaged.
The two groups developed different personalities. Group One decided early on to play things for laughs. Lunch-time, which immediately followed ‘Going to the Pictures’, was often the occasion for comments on what had occurred. “That’s what he’s here for – to make us laugh ”, and “We’ve been working hard laughing this morning” were two such. One lady, speaking of me, said loudly “He’s not quite as stupid as he looks!”
Group Two took a more serious approach. I showed a collage made by Ray Maloney from Detroit entitled ‘Blues in the Night’. One man commented “I know exactly how he feels. I fell off a bridge and injured my head. It affected my memory badly, but it is gradually returning. It is helped by times like this.”
I learned that it doesn’t much matter what visual material you choose to present so long as it is bold and clear. A couple of the video extracts I used proved too complex for people to unravel. And the photographs mustn’t be too ambiguous. The fact that none of the subjects was familiar did not seem to matter at all. Anyone who wishes to reminisce could do so: one lady even related a photograph of an elephant in India to her childhood park in Edinburgh! And you must be prepared for the most unlikely associations to be triggered. As another lady said “Something in that film just started me off.”
Some Guidelines
There seem to me to be a number of lessons to be learned from this little project, some of which apply to ‘Going to the Pictures’, and some of which have a wider application:
(1) It is important to achieve variety, so the alternation of video and photographs is a good one. Even turning the lights on and off helps. And offering one large photograph for general discussion, then individual ones for people to give solo interpretations of, provides a further variation. This latter activity, of course, can be quite a challenge for some people, and they may need some unobtrusive assistance.
(2) The unfamiliarity of the material should be no barrier. It is too easy to
feed people what they already know. Let’s not patronise those with dementia, and challenge them regularly.
(3) The timing of a session has to be got right. I had guessed an hour would
be appropriate for these groups, and so it proved. But if it doesn’t work don’t be afraid to change it.
(4) And the same goes for the number of participants. Be flexible, and
accept a modification of the original plan where necessary.
(5) Try to achieve the right balance between steering the group (not letting one person dominate, for example,) and giving the group its head.
(6) Never forget that communication is the aim. So you should not cease
from your role as facilitator at any time. You are there to stimulate, cajole, intervene, assist, praise --- all these functions and more. You have to use your personality to bring out the personality of others. I never adopt a passive role: I am always standing in front of the group when a discussion is going on, like a conductor, engaging in eye-contact, and trying to bring out the best in everyone.
(7) You are responsible for the feel-good factor in any group you run. That
means binding the group together, and making each individual feel that
their contribution is valued by you and by the other members.
This is an extract from an article written for Signpost magazine by John Killick about a project that he ran in the Westport Day Centre in Hawick, Scotland.
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