Dementia Action Week: Creative outlets helping active minds
Many of our aged care residents live with dementia, but this doesn’t stop their passion for creativity.
To mark Dementia Action Week, we’re sharing the stories of two of our residents at Bupa Windsor aged care home who are living with dementia.
Dementia affects close to 500,000 Australians, many of whom continue to lead active and healthy lives. Keeping up with activities they enjoy is one way people living with dementia can help maintain their quality of life.
In some cases, this is using skills they already had such as regular household chores, and in others, it’s finding creative activities to help relax the mind. That’s exactly what Maurice and Betty at Bupa Windsor have found in their creative outlets.
Maurice Wild
Maurice is Bupa Windsor’s resident artist and often acts as a spokesperson for the care home’s other residents.
In his time at Bupa Windsor, Maurice has started participating in local community painting classes. He has produced amazing paintings that are proudly displayed on the care home walls, often generating conversation between residents and staff.
Once he established his love for painting, he took his idea even further by creating a range of seasonal cards which he now sells to create awareness of Parkinson’s Disease.
Maurice has also been part of interview panels for recruiting new staff, including the home’s recently hired recreational officer and maintenance officer.
Betty McIntosh
Betty is a gifted knitter and an extremely talented painter.
Her knitting speciality is teddy bears, which she now makes to order for residents, families, employees and volunteers.
Betty’s Teddies are in such high demand, that it can often take weeks for her to fill her pre-orders – although nobody seems to mind the wait.
When asked why she does this, Betty says that the smile on peoples’ faces when they get one of her teddy bears is priceless and gives her endless joy.
