Montessori Approach
The goal of the Montessori program is to support older adults and people living with dementia and disability by creating a prepared environment, filled with cues and memory supports, that enables individuals to care for themselves, others, and their community.
Montessori Practices
1
Sensoral
The sensoral materials used in our Dementia-based program encourage participants to explore and sharpen their five senses with a goal of evoking positive feelings. The sensoral activities can improve mood, self-esteem and well-being. When drawing attention to a specific item, sensory stimulation encourages memories and responses from seniors suffering from Alzheimers and Dementia.
2
Practical Life
'Practical Life' is the term coined by Maria Montessori to describe those seemingly simple actions that, when connected, form the day's work in a home. These actions further influence the independence of seniors. Essentially, we want our seniors to regain, maintain, and sustain a sense of independence for as long as they can.
3
Normalization
Our program strives to create a home-like environment so that the transition from location to location is less traumatic.
"When a person and environment match; when the environment utilizes an individuals strength and allows success, a process unfolds".
In many ways, the cause of behaviors are associated with the environment not with the client, thus we must normalize the environment.
Providing the most effective care means maximizing the opportunities these individuals have to reconnect with a world they’re losing access to. Caregivers and researchers alike are increasingly finding that sensory experiences created through art or music therapy and physical activities gives senior loved ones with dementia positive emotions that they may have lost the ability to experience.​