Creating Rich Sensory and Social Experiences for Those Experiencing Dementia – Part 8: Noticing
As we continue to explore options for creating sensory and social experiences for our loved ones experiencing dementia, let’s get back to the art of noticing.
- If your loved one was a pilot or farmer, they probably have spent most of their lives noticing the clouds. Return the joy of noticing by drawing their attention to the clouds again.
- Or seek out the beauty of nature, such as the diversity of trees, and share these experiences with your loved one. Notice every detail in a leaf, the colors, veins, shapes, etc. Look for pretty flowers, animals, or interesting people and draw your loved one’s attention to them.
- Enjoy ‘the show’ together, creating shared moments of joy. Remember, they are losing the ability to appreciate these things on their own, so we can bring it to them by noticing.
The DAWN Method teaches us how to do dementia care right. It teaches the art of “noticing” — to “notice” the beautiful, interesting, and meaningful things directly in front of us.
Directly in front of us is this very moment of now, which means when we notice what is around us and draw our loved one’s attention to it, we are enjoying this moment with them. “This moment,” allowing the recent past and the future not to have anything to do with what we are enjoying, is where our companion is at their best, and when we join them there, we lower their stress while bringing rich stimulation.
