Dementia author Sam visits Mayflower

Residents, families and staff were delighted to welcome Sam Dondi-Smith to Mayflower Care Home earlier this week for a reading of his new book, Waiting for the Bus. Sam’s visit also formed part of a five-day roadshow among care homes in Kent and Sussex to coincide with Dementia Action Week.

Waiting for the Bus is a recently published learning and development resource that is designed to help dementia care teams better understand behaviours of distress in people living with dementia, especially after they move into residential care.

In writing Waiting for the Bus Sam, who is a consultant occupational therapist and senior partner of the National Dementia Care Accreditation Scheme (NaDCAS), collaborated with David Sheard, Professor of Emotional Intelligence in Care at York St John University. The book draws on Sam’s many hours of observations in care homes over the years, and contains useful case studies and the authentic words of people living with dementia.

This is combined with Professor Sheard’s powerful concept of The Search, and his view that there is always meaning behind someone’s actions. People living with dementia are looking for meaning in an increasingly confusing world where they can no longer rely on logic or memory.

“If someone is walking up and down it means that they are feeling lost inside themselves, or are searching for people and places that have been important to them,” Sam explained. “It’s so difficult to know what someone with dementia is thinking and feeling, and as the dementia progresses this just gets harder. I wanted to write a book that’s accessible, non academic and thought provoking.”

While at Mayflower Sam read extracts of the book and facilitated a discussion around how teams can interpret people’s behaviour with the help of a detailed ‘feelings wheel’. Carers’ own feelings should also be examined and recognised, because these can unwittingly impact on how care is given.

Sam added: “There is a difference between dementia, which is all about the medical facts of the disease, and dementia care, which should focus on the quality of the connections and interactions. It’s also important to create a feeling of home for residents, understand what makes each resident tick and enter their lived experience.”

“We would like to thank Sam for taking time out of his busy schedule to come and see us,” said Claudia Ramsamy, Mayflower’s home manager. “We enjoyed his book reading and found the discussion both thoughtful and insightful. Here at Mayflower, we really get to know our residents to give care that is truly person centred. Wherever possible, we also enter their lived reality, knowing from experience that this approach really does make a difference.”