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A fulltime caregiver takes a break and provides creative breaks for her father with aphasia.
Creative Breaks Workshop creates breaks for music, jazz, and viewing sports such as golf and baseball are great breaks for a parent's daily therapy routines.Jazz when played soft is musical, relaxing, rhythmic and creates a music break for older stroke victims. Golf and baseball are two traditional sports that can assist with eye exercises that are up,down, left, and right. Attention span improves, movement and being involved in daily tasks add to the independent actions of the parent.Talking on a cell phone to family members shows interest, wonder, emotions and creative conversation Being included in decisions such as room design projects, placement of personal items, looking at photos with imagination gives a touch of class to your day.
Music encourages conversation between a parent with Aphasia and a family member or visitor.
For uninterrupted rhythms, drumming or tapping the foot or toes to the songs will exercise Dad's foot,leg muscles, and pursue a creative moment. Music and mini concerts by your friends who visit can show both interest in the patient or parent at home. For musical field trips, theater outings, and attending music festivals plan ahead, discuss what you will be seeing or hearing. Parent want to feel included. Be sure to call ahead to arrange for wheelchair accessible vans and wheelchair accessible seating in a comfortable setting. Bring necessary earplugs and blankets for drafty areas that will make your parent more apt to want to stay for the entire concert or event.
Using musical instruments or creating instruments from old medicine bottles is fun to do. You can make shakers and look around for items you already have at home, kitchen utensils like a turkey baster will help to move or exercise the hands and fingers. Store bought instruments, if available and if in your musical budget, are good if you can't make the instrument. Use exploration of instruments as a tool for your parent or child to touch, explore, and create their own rhythms while reading stories. In our house, we have music breaks for the nurses, CNA's or physical therapists who usually don't use music as a resource are surprised in the glow of the face when it's performance time and after they've finished their session with my Dad. We have music breaks for about 10-15 minutes before they have to leave for their next client.Rain sticks and most instruments can be created from cereal boxes, grits cylinders, and plastic take out containers.When taking breaks with younger children in the home with a parent you are caregiving for, I use recycled cleaned out yogurt containers and a stop watch. We play and create "Olympic" games, bowl with 2 liter plastic bottles, and create our own titles for the games we make. Math activities are fun when you use a stopwatch with a soft alarm. The ticking of the watch and the rhythms fascinate younger ones to complete tasks that are assigned by the parent. The children test all creative games, become music critics and sports  experts by creative breaks workshop directions they make up. This is a resource for the child or parent that your caregiving will relate to. Children and elderly parents are empowered to give their opinions and decisions that support your consistency for a needed break. They set out and evaluate on their ability to entertain using found objects which are safe for children. Safety is very important in all activitiesSet the guidelines and parameters for children when they are involved in the caregiving of an older parent. They can read stories, sing, play an instrument, help 'teach' something that they know. They also can mentor and color pictures and cards for a sick parent in the home.
Four year olds are experts at this. Sports at home can be a Bowling Tournament using yogurt cups and a soft ball to test your skill of tossing. Use large yogurt containers for skyscrapers which are fun for any season in the hallway or small room. Empty medicine bottles can be used to build and count. Take the labels off and clean thoroughly before using them again for sports games. You can also store small items like pins, buttons, and things that are tiny. These can be stored out of the way of babies and toddlers that like to put things in their mouth. Musical mallets for drums can have cottonball tips attached with a rubber band for early drummers. Recycle safe containers and not glass bottles. Storage for safe containers for music should be free from cracks and sharp edges. We want to have fun not drama in our music productions at home.Recycled safe containers can also be used as shakers. Aluminum pie pans can be also used for  and tambourines for teaching the alphabet,counting, and drumming creatively with the hand. Dad can use soft sports toys for exercising. Exercising while sitting is also fun to do during the commercials.It brings on conversation that is joyful plus a smile and his own greeting for thank you. Your patient will be more tired or relaxed, but the smiles keep coming.
There are many ways to have fun with your young toddlers, small children, and senior parents who are in need of some creative breaks in all types of situations. I have many ideas on getting your parents involved in areas with music and dealing with sickness rather than shutting them out of life's need for attention or being embraced with family support. The caregiver must depend on creative ways for managing their time awake and time with an ill parent.
Music Therapy works!I am a certified teacher with many experiences and contacts in the music industry but this is my discovery with my father who has had the ischemic stroke with severe Aphasia.I try to make my father's recovery and stay a 24/7 with creative breaks and lots of rest for the caregiver (moi). Being around family, and a happy one at 86 years young is challenging and painful at time, but the music heals.He will still notice that he's happy to alive.Music works even on the music awards when music is alive and sounding great, even dance can be fun and moving from the waist up.His independent tapping to whatever he hears, foot and hand embellish movement and needed exercise.He can't finger pop as we're working on this. Use music in your day and create a break that will be remembered for all you do each day!If you would like to find out about music and arts programs, see the Creative Breaks Workshop and Creative Breaks Entertainment Workshop website. Membership is free.It's a fun website for those who can't get out to see the usual performances. The performance links are designed for shut-ins,seniors who can't get out on a regular basis, computer savy parents and teens, and also for those who can get out to see the amazing things that are here or in their own communities.It is a sharing website and resource for teachers, parents, music educators, arts enthusiasts that will take you at the links on a virtual tour of websites that teach, inspire, and encourage you.Take a look and you will also see a link for Care Today, one of my favorite creative breaks resources for caregivers such as myself. Please join my mailing list for additional music resources and creative breaks ideas. http://www.creativebreaksworkshop.com Creative Breaks Workshop is a writer, retired teacher, music and arts website designer, and fulltime caregiver for her father. Two websites and a business came out of the creation for Creative Breaks Workshop while taking care of my father. Now CBW researches independently resourceful ways to increase joy in caregiving and less stress and a happy day in the person you care for. Creator/Professional Development Workshop Faciliator and music website creator, Creative Breaks Workshop will share music news, her teaching techniques with her father, and other valuable links and contacts in the music business. For more information contact creativebreaksworkshop@comcast.net