Lindey's second reflection

Hello bloggers!
       Lindsey here reporting from Best Friends day center. Today is your lucky day because I am going to give you the inside scoop on volunteering at such an amazing organization called Best Friends. Look at the picture shown to your right. I chose this picture because I think it is a great example of the interaction that occurs between the volunteers and participants at this program. We take the time to make the participants smile when they are visiting best friends and we always make them feel welcomed. Whether its enjoying ice cream together or singing songs you both know we incorporate fun in what we do. We give them a home away from home where they can meet new people and interact with different individuals. Contributing to an increase in good communications skills.
       This blog is going to give you the insight on my third time volunteering at this organization. On this visit, I truly felt connected to the participants. I went from coloring pictures for them to take home, to singing and dancing in the back room along with them. Seeing the smile on some of their faces just brought me joy and made me realize how much I enjoy helping those in need. The next day, they don't remember who you are, but I just take it as a brand new start to capture there attention all over again.  Most of the time you will walk in to see the same people, but here and there you will see new faces which means you will have to overcome new communication skills to fulfill successful communication with that individual. It isn't as hard as it sounds so don't let me scare you off! In order to have good communication you need to get to know the person fairly well; ask what they like or what they are interested in. It helps to pay attention to what activities they are participating in and most importantly how bad there condition is because people with mild alzheimer's are a lot easier to communicate then people with severe alzheimer's. You need know the stand point of the patient you are taking care of and find that relationship with them. With that being said, you also have to understand that they forget their short term memory, meaning that they could forget a sentence they said 5 minutes ago. In order to cope with this, you need to simplify your sentences and if the question is repeated, you need to state the same answer as you did before; doing this will help communication skills within the patient and help them comprehend things better.
-xoxo-
Lindsey