I gave my students a reading by Zauszniewski et al (2004) for this week on reminiscence groups, which are considered to be a positive activity at many long term care homes and community settings. Here is how the article describes the six sessions for older adults without dementia:
The theme for this session was called, “Those Were the Days,” and the elders recalled early childhood memories through schooldays. Pictures such as a pencil sharpener, a school bus, a typewriter, a graduation cap, chalk, and a microscope were presented. The theme for session two was “All Creatures Great and Small,” and participants recalled past experiences involving animals (e.g., pets, farm animals, zoo animals). The focus of session three was
“Food for Thoughts,” and elders recalled favorite and least favorite foods, mealtime habits, and food categories (e.g., vegetables, fruits, fish and meats, and beverages). Session four was called, “Red Letter Days.” It involved recollection of holidays and special occasions. Colored pictures reflecting Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Groundhog Day, and Halloween were presented. The theme of session five was “That’s Entertainment,” and it focused on leisure activities and favorite pastimes such as fishing, dice, car racing, puzzles, and the circus. Finally, session six was called, “Away We Go,” and elders talked about means of transportation they had used and places to which they had traveled.
This sounds like primary school, doesn't it? And I wonder if my students are going to see it as infantilizing or not.
What do you think?
Silvia
I have learned that treating older adults like children by utilizing childish words is one of the types of elerly abuse. Probably, you're right if you see only this part of article.
ReplyDeleteHowever, let me tell you that why my opinion is different from yours. I cannot find any aggressive words or sentences towards older adults in this article. An example includes the following sentence, which is described what is the purpose for their research. "The purpose of this program.... the focused reflection allowed for socialization and a chance for the elder's to talk about past experiences" (p. 433). As seen in this sentence, the description of six sessions you quoted does not imply any harmfully abusive words.
I understand that the themes, such as "Those Were The Days", "All Creatures Great and Small", "Food for Thoughts", and so on, seem to be described as childish words because these themes also include some words children usually use, such as a pencil sharpener, a school bus, a typewriter, a graduation cap, and so on. Sounds like childish words, but they are not. These words are only devices for using to help out finding the purpose of their research.If you read a whole article, you may agree with me.
It is important to look at something as a whole. It is more important to discuss together, and listen to other's ideas. I am pleased to see how your opinion is different from me.
In a sentence I commented that "If you read a whold articel, you may agree with me", you means the readers. Sorry to make you all to confused.
ReplyDeleteIn principle, focused reminiscence seems like a great idea.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the themes and topics chosen for these sessions appear to reflect benevolent prejudice – a form of age-based prejudice in which older adults are patronized and treated like children. From the ‘cutesy’ titles of the sessions (“All Creatures Great and Small & “Food for Thoughts”) to the emphasis on stereotypic representations of various life stages (“school bus” & “the circus”) these choices served restrict the participants to warm and fuzzy topics. Why not let them select the topics they wish to reflect about? Why avoid discussions of difficult life periods that they overcame?
I also found it interesting that their evaluation criteria were structured in such a way that they virtually guaranteed positive evaluations of their program. If you design something to be administered in a “structured and pre-planned way” – you should expect very high scores on an evaluation item like “Allows reflection on past life experiences in a structured and pre-planned way.” I’m not sure that such criteria really speak to the overall effectiveness of the program.
I also noticed that their results for emotional well-being (like anxiety and depression) were mixed at best. They admit to a spike in anxiety immediately following completion of the program and only report a drop in depression at 6 weeks post-treatment. A quick look over their results reveals largely non-significant results, seriously calling into question the effectiveness of their program.
Or maybe I’m just picking it apart. What I do know is I can’t fathom sitting around at any age talking purposefully about things that fall under these themes. This stuff makes me afraid of getting older and losing my independence.
Carrie