When Lady-Links make visits, they want to engage their dear friends in activities that will stimulate conversation about pleasant memories. Sometimes this is done with crafts or games. However for some of our dear friends, the best way to stimulate interaction is through an activity we call “Show and Tell.”
Bringing a picture or the actual object about something we think will interest our dear friend is a way to help her make connections to a similar experience from her past.
Show and Tell is fun for the Lady-Links as well as for our dear friends. It is an opportunity to learn something about our pasts, find connections, and engage in meaningful, delightful conversation.
This type of activity allows us to engage in storytelling, something we all enjoy. Each object has a story behind it, and we find that these stories strengthen friendships, encourage bonding, and activate cognitive information that may have not been accessed for a while but is still there.
We have found it best to keep the stories short and simple, including only a few details and descriptive words. We always try to think of a specific way that our dear friend might have done something similar to what we’re sharing in our story. Then we help her make those connections by using open-ended questions, usually about her childhood, and prompting her with any clues she needs to contribute to the conversation.
We all have stories to tell and objects that would represent those stories. Why not use the Show and Tell method to share some of your stories with your friends or loved ones with dementia? They would benefit from it and so would you!
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