OLDER ADULTS 

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 I am currently working at the Aphasia Institute, running two expressive art groups for people who have had a stroke.  As part of my work with the Aphasia Institute I am trained  in Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia (SCA).

 

Supported conversation helps adults who have had a stroke find their

words.  SCA is an intervention approach specifically designed to help

people with aphasia express their feelings and opinions in a way that

makes them feel appreciated and heard.  SCA is a program which uses

a set of techniques which aims to improve conversational interaction

through body language and gesture, drawings, pictographs in addition

to spoken and written words. This approach is based on the idea that the

inherent competence of people with aphasia can be revealed through the

skill of the conversation partner. (Kagan et al. 2001)

 

In my private practice I work with a range of concerns that seniors who

have had a stroke have, such as loss of employment, loss of meaningful

hobbies such as reading, loss of language and loss of use of a dominant

hand or other body part.

 

Art helps adults who have lost the use of their dominant hand to practice with their non-dominant hand in a fun and meaningful way.

 

As written in the article, Aging: What’s Art Got To Do With It?    by Barbara Bagan, PhD, ATR-BC, art has been proven to help  older adults in the following ways:

 

• helping individuals relax;

• providing a sense of control;

• reducing depression and anxiety;

• assisting in socialization;

• encouraging playfulness and a sense of humor;

• improving cognition;

• offering sensory stimulation;

• fostering a stronger sense of identity;

• increasing self-esteem;

• nurturing spirituality; and

• reducing boredom.