Eddie rarely moves while lying in his tub chair – he usually just watches or falls asleep during our Chair Chi sessions.
I always gently try to encourage him to participate, but for the past several sessions he had barely moved.
Then this day it happened! He moved his arms and legs – surprising and delighting one of the staff members watching nearby. It also delighted me, so I kept encouraging him and he began participating in the activities for much longer than in previous sessions.
Because I’m at this aged care centre only once a month for an hour of Chair Chi, I don’t fully get to know residents’ levels of physical ability or cognitive awareness. All I can do is observe and be guided by their reactions.
But when you get a staff member who knows the residents and reacts in the way this one did when Eddie moved, then I know I’m on the right track.