Workshop 3, March 16th 2016

The third LAUGH workshop explored the theme of dementia: making, crafting and procedural memory.  

This workshop explored procedural memory in relation to hand-use and craft making and considered how hand-use, gesture and haptic sensibilities can provide access to procedural and emotional memories, which are retained even into the late stages of the disease.  Craft and making activities learned in earlier life, provide rhythmic patterns of hand activity that can enhance wellbeing by supporting in the moment sensory experience, competency and reaffirmation of personhood.  Playful activities provide a person with dementia freedom to explore, learn and have positive experiences even when cognitive function and memory recall is severely impaired.

Those attending the participatory workshop included occupational therapists based in hospital dementia units and residential care, art therapists, representatives from the charity sector, designers and researchers.  The event took place over three hours and was divided into four stages: two practical activity sessions each followed by a group discussion session.  The aim was to enable participants to sharpen insights into their observations of activities with people living with late stage dementia involving hand-use and procedural memory in the discussion sessions.

Photos from the workshop:

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The related research findings from this workshop have been presented at the conference ‘WELL-BEING 2016: Co-Creating Pathways to Well-Being, The Third International Conference Exploring the Multi-Dimensions of Well-Being’, Birmingham City University, September 5-6, 2016.  Here is a link to the paper: Designing for wellbeing in late stage dementia.

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