Making the Moments Count: Leisure Activities for Caregiving Relationships

By Joanne Ardolf Decker

Book Overview

What do you do when the meals are over and the dressing has been accomplished? Those caring for a person with an illness or disability who ask themselves this question can find a wealth of answers in Making the Moments Count. For professional, volunteer, and family caregivers, here is an invaluable guide for creating meaningful and enjoyable activities. Whatever the ages or circumstances of the people in a caregiving relationship, such shared moments can bring positive changes in the present and build memories to treasure in the future. In Making the Moments Count, therapeutic recreation specialist Joanne Ardolf Decker provides practical, doable suggestions for spending leisure time with people of all ages who need care, whether they are recovering from an illness, facing a terminal disease, or growing older and more dependent on outside help. Caregivers are obviously important in providing help with feeding, hygiene, and health care. But they are also crucially important in caring for the mind and spirit. This book will help caregivers accomplish that part of their jobs when life is most difficult-when the need for joy and meaning is greatest. Through descriptions of individual situations, Decker shows how caregivers can focus on: - Keeping the mind active - General body movement - Influencing self-esteem and outlook - Making plans for each day - Keeping outings simple - Hobbies, interests, and feeling useful In addition to case examples of individual situations and lists of suggestions for appropriate leisure activities, Decker provides information about the benefits of the activities and how to adapt them to fit different abilities, interests, and age groups. Checklists are provided for recording information about the person receiving care-information about which activities were meaningful in the past, what is possible in the current situation, and how activities might be enjoyed in the future. Making the Moments Count is a valuable resource for professional caregivers and volunteers, and for family and friends who provide care for a loved one, whether in the home or in an institutional setting.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801857007
• ISBN13: 9780801857003
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

EXCELLENT resource!

This book is full of ideas for any person or group dealing with elderly or shut in people. It is encouraging and extremely helpful for care givers and their support people. The stories in the book are great examples of how us slightly younger folks can help make life more comfortable and even fun for others. Rev. "retired" Rae

"Making the Moments Count" is a book that counts.

I loved the book so much that I read it straight through twice, and wanted to share it with everyone. Since most of us these days have an elderly someone who needs TLC, "Making the Moments Count" is a timely book which deserves to be a best seller. Here's why: First, it's small but complete, taking the reader through the P.I.E.S.S system: Physical,Intellectual, Emotional, Social & Spiritual needs of older adults. Joanne Decker covers the material thoroughly, clearly & concisely. Second, this is not a dry text book. It's an interesting & enjoyable read, full of wit, wisdom & warmth, and illustrated by lovely vignettes drawn from personal experience. Third, this book satisfies the caregivers needs. It's not just about what to do with Mom, but how to have a great relationship with her even though she's not what she used to be.