Autistic Children with Sleeping Problems

February 18th, 2013

This is a report we recently received from a mother whose autistic child had sleeping difficulties

 

I purchased ImaginationGYM for my son about 2 years ago.  He is on the autistic spectrum and always had sleep difficulties.  He finds it very difficult to settle to sleep and once asleep would wake most nights and not be able to settle back to sleep, as you can imagine this resulted in a very tired family.

We now use the ImaginationGYM CD when he gets into bed and it has had a remarkable effect in helping him to get to sleep.   He actually falls asleep in a very short time.  In the past it could take up to two hours for him to fall asleep.

When he first started using the CD at night he would imagine the story in his head and drift off to sleep.  Now after two years I start the CD and he falls asleep very quickly, within minutes.  This is incredible considering the difficulties he had in the past.

We later discovered that if we leave the CD playing on repeat throughout the night he manages to stay asleep throughout the night.

ImaginationGYM has really improved his sleep patterns and has helped us all get good night’s sleep.  He still loves listening to it and has been using it every night for over two years.     It has really worked for us and it never comes out of the CD player in my sons room J.

It is a bit of a miracle and my son feels much better as a result of getting better sleep.

Thanks you so much,

Seachtain na Gaeilge Ceardlanna do Phaisti 2013

February 6th, 2013

 

Children’s Workshops:

 

 

We would like to introduce you to an innovative workshop programme that we have been successfully running in Libraries over the last number of years for Seachtain na Gaeilge.

 

ImaginationGYM® workshops are a fun and interactive way to help children access their natural creativity, and artistic talent. The Seachtain na Gaeilge workshop is themed around a story in the series titled An Choill Draiochta. This audio program encourages children to create their own stories by bringing them on a journey into an imaginative world of folklore, nature, animals, music, dreams and wishes. Children will learn to stretch their imagination muscles and have fun taking positive action on creativity with art activity sheets.

 

The one-hour workshop is designed for groups of children aged 7-12 years, with two workshop formats (one up to 15 children in a group and larger groups of up to 30 children). The workshop format can be arranged for children only or for children with their parents/ guardians. Workshops can be run in the library or in a school environment.

 

Examples of workshops run in the past.

 

We have run a series of eight one-hour workshops for Roscommon County Library as part of their Summer Events Programme. We also ran 16 workshops in a number of libraries (Clare, Waterford, Mayo and South County Dublin) as part of The Children’s Book Festival 2010 and 2011.Seachain na Gaeilge Workshops were run in Drogheda, Dundalk and South County Dublin Libraries in 2011 and 6 Co. Kildare Libraries in 2012.

 

Seachtain Na Gaeilge workshops are generally run completely in Irish, including all workshop materials. However bi-lingual, variants are also available.

 

Should you or the Children and Schools Librarian require further information on scheduling an ImaginationGYM® Seachtain na Gaeilge workshops in your libraries, I can be contacted on 087-6168460 or by emailing rdurkin@imaginationgym.com

Limited dates are available so please contact us as soon as possible to ensure required date is available.

A Letter from our colleagues in Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services

January 29th, 2013

Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services

Annual International Palliative Care Conference

Dialogues in Dementia Care: Palliative Care Perspective

7 March 2013 (Thursday 9.00 – 16.30 hrs)

LIMITED PROMOTION Early Bird Booking €80 before 7 Feb
Click for details Conference Notice / Registration Form

 

Dear friends and colleagues

I am delighted to bring you news of our upcoming Moving Points Conference Dialogues in Dementia Care: Palliative Care Perspective’ & Call for Poster Abstracts.

 

Although person-centred dementia care is well aligned to the aims of palliative care, evidence exists that the care of people with dementia, especially towards the end of their lives, is less than optimal (World Health Organisation, 2012). Hence, this conference aims to investigate how specialist palliative care and dementia care teams can work in partnership to achieve shared and co-ordinated goals.

 

Thank you for bringing the conference details to the attention of your colleagues and displaying the information on your noticeboard.

 

Kind regards

 

Deborah Hayden

Nurse Tutor in Palliative Care

Education & Research Centre
Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services

Harold’s Cross

Dublin 6W

 

Adjunct Lecturer

UCD School of Nursing Midwifery and Health Systems

 

01 4068702

dhayden@olh.ie

www.olh.ie

 

 

Distributed on behalf of Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services

Training Course Carlow, Wexford & Waterford – Specialist Activity Therapy for Nursing Homes

December 18th, 2012

Training Course Announcement Waterford, Carlow & Wexford  23rd January 2013

How to provide effective Activity Therapy for Alzheimer’s & Dementia clients in an enjoyable but cost effective programme.


This is a staff training course for professionals in residential home elder care. The course teaches staff how to provide activity therapy for patients with Alzheimer’s and Dementia based on the proven ImaginationGYM methodology. Providing activity therapy can be quite a difficult task for many staff and the course will not only teach staff how to deliver effective activity therapy but will also provide evidence and case studies on our research in this area.

The course is being held in Wexford 23rd January 2013
This is a very cost effective way of delivering an activity program in your Nursing Home on a regular basis. After initial training and set up costs, annaualised costs per capita for each workshop can be measured in cents. We recommend the program is run at least once a week for clients as it has a progressively beneficial impact. Key outcomes included:

  • Reduction of stress
  • Increased engagement
  • Improved communication
  • Helpful behaviour management
  • A very enjoyable experience for both clients & staff
  • Stimulation of all senses
  • Group work
  • Cumulative positive affects over time.

The program is successful because the workshops are run to a fixed methodology. The initial training is necessary to impart this methodology to staff. Training is held on 2 separate days approximately 1 to 2 months apart. Ongoing support is also available as part of the initial training commitment.

For further information please click here  for more INFORMATION or BOOK NOW or call  01 67535322  and we will be delighted to answer your queries