Nicola Kendall - A Namaste Care Activity Book: Sensory Stories and Activities for People Living with Advanced Dementia

A Namaste Care
Activity Book

Sensory Stories and Activities
for People Living with
Advanced Dementia

NICOLA KENDALL

With chapters from Emma Biglands, Paul Chazot,
Lourdes Colclough, Laura Johnston, Michelle Kindleysides,
Andrea Lambell, Richard Langdon, Colette ODriscoll,
Magda Pasak and Susannah Thwaites

Foreword by Rishi Jawaheer Director
of Namaste Care International

Rishi Jawaheer Director of Namaste Care International

Growing up in a dementia care home, where my sister and I shared a single room at the top of our house, Homelands, with our parents Roy and Sherine, we saw the 14 residents as members of our extended family. Having begun their careers as registered mental health nurses, both our parents already had many years experience of running day hospitals in the NHS. Since those early beginnings at Homelands, their dedication to providing person-centred specialist dementia care has seen the Jawa Group grow into one of Londons leading care villages. This family-centric ethos inspired me to join the company and I have gone on to lead the Jawa Group.

When we first met Professor Joyce Simard and Min Stacpoole, we recognized them as kindred spirits. Namaste Care gave a name to what we had always believed in honouring the spirit within. It sparked something within us, and we came to embrace Namaste Care wholeheartedly in our care homes. Not only did we foster our connection with the interventions pioneers, we also wanted to help promote it to like-minded individuals.

In collaboration with Joyce, Min and Namaste Care practitioners around the world, in September 2018, Namaste Care International was launched at an inaugural conference at the premises of the Jawa Group. Gillian Hensley-Gray from our team has played a pivotal role in supporting the expansion of Namaste Care and has been by my side. Nicola Kendall was one of the first delegates through the door, and with a shared passion for the quiet revolution that is Namaste Care, we have got to know Nicola well, not only as a colleague but also as a friend. Her approach to adapting namaste to real life situations and context makes things accessible and relevant to people in care. We have seen first-hand how her approach can transform the wellbeing and outlook of all involved. This also gives the carers another outlet of expression and brings variety and energy to the dedicated work they do. This is very much at the heart of what we do and this has always been at the forefront of my agenda to change the negative perception of care and encourage the next generation of carers to come through. Namaste Care and Champions like Nicola set the tone for valuing carers and challenging society not to stick to stereotypes, and put carers on the pedestal in society that is often reserved for the traditional roles of doctors and lawyers. Carers make the world go round!

Now Nicola is Namaste Care Internationals Champion for Hospices, one of 17 Champions worldwide. Her initiative at St Cuthberts Hospice in Durham, to take the hospice to the community, supports people with advanced dementia to stay at home for longer.

In this time of pandemic, Namaste Care has more relevance than ever to those in care homes, hospices and hospitals. The positive effects on people with advanced illness, and their families, can be seen every day in care settings of all shapes and sizes.

Nicolas book will give Namaste Care practitioners all the creative tools they need to deliver the loving touch and meaningful activity that is central to this way of life, which can bring so much joy and comfort to those who have been alone for so long.

Rishi Jawaheer

The Jawa Group, London

Namaste Care International

CareVision CMS

How do we live, rather than just exist?

Thats a question we should all ask ourselves, whether we have dementia or not, isnt it?

When it comes to the advanced stages of dementia, however, that question becomes even more urgent and powerful. In the last few years and months of our lives, how do we want to live?

Victor Frankl put it thus:

We must never forget that we may find meaning in life even when confronted with a hopeless situation, when facing a fate that cannot be changed. For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn ones predicament into a human achievement. (Frankl 2004, p.116)

Every time I look into the eyes of someone living with advanced dementia, I see a light in their eyes which dementia has not dimmed. They are still there, they havent been lost, even though it can feel like they have.

If you are reading this book, then you already care about helping someone living with advanced dementia to live with quality in their lives, rather than to just exist. I dont need to convince you of the why; you are interested in the how. Namaste Care offers the opportunity to LIVE, with meaning, joy and connection right up to the moment we take our last breath, by offering simple, sensory experiences within a safe and relaxed space. Namaste Care, at its very core, facilitates a special form of genuine close attention between two people, and allows for an appropriate giving and receiving of love.

The idea for this book came about following a review I carried out with a family who had a volunteer Namaste Care visitor. The family was very grateful for the time the volunteer was giving, but they were concerned that the volunteer was tentative about trying out sensory activities. I had to reflect on my abilities as a trainer and project supervisor to be fair, but I also realized that not everyone is creative and imaginative when it comes to thinking of sensory activities. So, this book began to take shape and evolve in my mind into what it is now: a resource book of themed activities linked to sensory stories to inspire and guide a themed Namaste Care session.

Joyce Simard, who developed Namaste Care in the USA, encourages us to think about that central question: How do we live, rather than just exist, with quality and meaning in our lives? I hope this book contributes to the growing interest in Namaste Care as an answer to this question.

Section 1 , Inspiring Creativity in Namaste Care, provides a foundation for the rest of the book. It summarizes the Namaste Care approach and the need for sensory stimulation, which is covered in more detail in my book Namaste Care for People Living with Advanced Dementia: A Practical Guide for Carers and Professionals (Kendall 2019). I also discuss sensory storytelling and give guidance about how to tell a sensory story. This supports the core purpose of the book, which is encouraging the use of the sensory stories and associated activities found in Section 3. Section 1 additionally includes a contribution from Colette ODriscoll from St Josephs Hospice in Hackney, London, and Lourdes Colclough from Macmillan, which discusses respecting cultural diversity in Namaste Care. This section concludes with some guidance about helping a person to live, right up until they take their last breath, with consideration about end of life support.

Section 2 , Supporting Sensory Approaches, contains guidance and discussions from a variety of very knowledgeable professionals, aimed at further supporting a sensory approach and focusing on the various senses, one at a time. I am incredibly grateful to each contributor for generously sharing their expertise and experience.