COTA Victoria is urging families to use Mother’s Day next Sunday 12 May 2019 as a time to record the stories and memories of grandmothers to preserve the family history for grandchildren.
Ronda Held, CEO of COTA Victoria said with time to reminisce and a bit of prompting, we all have stories to tell and conversations are a simple caring strategy to break down the loneliness barriers for older Australians.
COTA Australia and the Faculty of Health, Arts and Design at Swinburne University developed Reminiscing Story Cards to encourage older people to reminisce, highlighting their resilience, persistence and creativity.
The Reminiscing Cards are a low cost, simple and easy to use in family or group situations such as aged care facilities to stimulate positive discussion.
“Reminiscing in a supportive environment and with a focus on strengths and positives can lift an older person’s spirit, reminding them – and their families and support workers – of their resourcefulness and depth of experience.”
Ms Held said COTA Victoria had started a statewide awareness campaign with the Reminiscing Story Cards that are suitable for families, aged care facilities, schools for education on ageism and carers of older people.
The Reminiscing Story Cards are prompts that encourage older people to talk about:
* Beginnings – family, childhood, school, friendships, work and relationships
* Strengths and successes – happy experiences and achievements
* Challenges and wisdom – values and traditions, legacy and lessons learnt.
Recently COTA conducted an introduction program to the Reminiscing Story Cards to several grandparents resulting in the following comments:
“My reminiscing is a precious gift to my family.”
“The stories we tell define us to the people who receive them.”
“The story guide has helped me to concisely record my story and I feel listened to and supported.”
“I’ve wanted to tell my story for ages, and it’s helped confirm my contribution to my family, my friends and to understand myself.”
Media Enquiries:
Ronda Held CEO COTA Vic. 0450 785 437
Ron Smith, Media Communications, COTA Victoria – Mobile: 0417 329 201
Dementia statistics. There are more than 400,000 people in Australia with dementia. Of those people, about 55% are women.
Dementia is the single greatest cause of disability in Australians over the age of 65 years, and the third leading cause of disability burden overall.