I began developing the PAL Instrument by building on the work of Claudia K Allen. She had developed an Occupational Therapy model for understanding cognitive disability, based on developmental theory. Allen’s model has a robust assessment for OTs and then relies on their professional knowledge to interpret the outcomes of the assessment. I wanted a tool that would self-interpret and provide a guide to those without the clinical skills so that they could enable individuals with cognitive difficulties to be less disabled in every-day activities. Aware of others in the group and will work alongside others although tends to focus on own activity. By using the QCS PAL Instrument as a scaffold, the Dementia Centre will help transform how care professionals support each individual's cognitive needs and abilities. The National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People (NAPA) is a membership charity that promotes the importance of activity for all older people. It offers members regular bulletins full of practical activity ideas including quizzes, discussion topics and art activities. The CLIPPER assessment tool was developed by Jennie Powell (2007). It considers 41 activities that could occur during a typical day. Caregivers note which activities occur, how often, and how the person seems to feel about each activity.

Pool Activity Level (PAL) and The Daily Sparkle Pool Activity Level (PAL) and The Daily Sparkle

The three steps to introducing the philosophy into a care setting are vision, education and implementation. The Eden Alternative UK offers education, national and in-house training and supports staff teams to achieve these steps. A therapeutic approach The Dementia Centre is a resource hub of evidence-based tools and content offering guidance on HOW to deliver great dementia care and evidencing excellence through visible staff actions and impact on service user wellbeing.

A programme approach

The PAL Instrument uses a strengths-based approach, opposed to where we only focus on the difficulties people with dementia might have and disable them. It contains a valid and reliable assessment tool for assessing the overall level of individual cognitive and functional ability. A PAL Guide that describes how to support the person at that level of ability is produced from the completed assessment. The PAL Instrument is a widely used framework in care settings across the UK and around the world. However, it is not uncommon to find relatives, other older people, managers and staff members resistant to the idea of using dolls, because they think it seems patronising or demeaning in some way for the person, or they are worried about outside visitors’ reactions. Can plan to carry out an activity, hold the goal in mind and work through a familiar sequence; may need help solving problems.

Pool Level Activity (PAL) Instrument | QCS Digital Pool Level Activity (PAL) Instrument | QCS

National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People. ‘Activity allsorts’ (includes 101 things to do). London: NAPA. leisure activities, therapies, therapy and treatment, activities of daily living, cognitive impairment, dementia;Care UK’s activity teams share what they have found to be helpful when supporting people with dementia in everyday activities, arts and crafts, maintaining independence, special occasions, health and wellbeing, and reminiscence. A number of different approaches within dementia care offer helpful ways to develop meaningful activity and improve quality of life for people with dementia.

pool activity level (PAL) instrument for occupational profiling: a The pool activity level (PAL) instrument for occupational

More interested in the making or doing than the end result, needs prompting to remember purpose, can get distracted. The Best Friends approach was developed in the mid-1990s by Virginia Bell and David Troxel in the United States. Simply put, the model suggests that what a person with dementia needs most of all is a friend, a ‘Best Friend’. Roe, P. (1998) Let’s talk, Milton Keynes: Speechmark. This includes discussion and prompt cards for use by groups in a range of settings.Bell, V., Troxel, D., Cox, T. and Hamon, R. (2004 and 2007) The Best Friends book of Alzheimer’s activities, vol 1 and 2. Baltimore, MD: Health Professions Press. Body language may be inappropriate and may not always be coherent, but can use simple language skills. At the end of this feature, you can see a list of companies and organisations that produce catalogues of products and resources that could inspire you. Cognitive stimulation therapy, or CST, involves 14 sessions of themed activities which run over a seven-week period. Sessions aim to actively stimulate and engage people with dementia, while providing a positive learning environment and the social benefits of a group. CST groups can be led by anyone working with people with dementia, such as care workers, occupational therapists or nurses, and can take place in settings including care homes, hospitals or day centres.

Activity resources and approaches for dementia - SCIE Activity resources and approaches for dementia - SCIE

Dementia is a growing challenge. It is estimated that by 2025, the number of people with dementia in the UK will be more than 1 million. As one of the most important health and social care issues facing the world, continuous post-diagnostic care and support are vital. The QCS Pool Activity Level (PAL) Instrument is widely used as the framework for providing activity-based care for people with cognitive impairments, including dementia. The Instrument was recommended for daily living skills training and activity planning in the National Institute for Clinical Excellence Clinical Guidelines for Dementia (NICE 2006). It is an essential resource for any practitioner or carer wanting to provide fulfilling occupation for clients with cognitive impairments.

Practical activity ideas and resources

To be successful, an activity has to match the personal interests of an individual and be pitched at the ‘just right’ level of challenge: too easy and it may be boring, too difficult and it will be frustrating. Activities need to be broken down and presented one step at a time, multisensory stimulation can help hold the attention. Some depend on using a particular practical resource, some emphasise skilful assessment before planning activities. Others promote a programme, philosophy or therapeutic intervention. Powell, J. (2007) Care to communicate: Helping the older person with dementia, (2nd edition), London: Hawker. This book includes the CLIPPER assessment tool with forms to photocopy. Simple assessment tools can help staff to understand the types of activities that might benefit a person with dementia. Two of the best-known examples are the Pool Activity Level (PAL) Instrument (Pool, 2007) and the Cardiff Lifestyle Improvement Profile for People in Extended Residential Care (CLIPPER) (Powell, 2007).