Activities
Art Sessions
At Daneswood we aim to offer a wide selection of in house activities including weekly art sessions. Whilst these follow weekly themes these are structured so that everyone who lives here has an experience that is tailored to their own needs and abilities. These sessions not help to develop skills but they also help to communicate differing times of the year and seasons by means of the session contents.
We have followed various Celebration Days, for example, Valentine’s Day, St David’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, International Epilepsy Day, Easter and Christmas. These celebrations included a range of projects from collage hearts, daffodil chains, shamrocks, flowers for Mother’s Day on a card, Easter eggs and chickens, we have also had sessions to represent summer, autumn winter and spring, and we have worked on larger themes representing theme as diverse as ‘Identity’ and ‘Australia’.
Music Therapy
We offer music therapy to the young people who live with us as music can be an important communication tool for people with learning difficulties. It can also be used to relieve stress and improve people’s confidence.
We believe that these kind of person centred approaches can make a great deal of difference in people’s lives. It can increase people’s sense of identity and independence, it can encourage a growing sense of self and awareness of others and in addition it can also enhance motivation and concentration.
All Music Therapists train to MA level and must be registered with the Health Professions Council, so you can be assured of a high standard in this area. Our residents have access to instruments and our service users are offered the opportunity to play and use the session time in any way they choose, with appropriate support from staff.
Movement
Daneswood’s movement therapy is mindful movement therapy, a mindful and gentle movement technique, arranged in individual sessions and in group sessions. All of the mindful movement therapy exercises are structured and applied according to the specific physiological and psychological needs of the young residents at Daneswood. The overall effect is harmonising and regulating of mind, body and soul.
During the group sessions each of Daneswood’s carers does the exercises with the young person they are looking after, learning techniques to alleviate anxiety and restlessness in the young people or to help them to engage better with their environment. Furthermore, the groups provide social interaction of the young people among each other and give the opportunity for the setting of seasonal milestones throughout the year. In the individual sessions the young people’s specific health requirements are targeted, such as poor circulation, tense muscles, weak walking ability or a sluggish digestion. In addition to that individual plans are worked out that foster and develop the young people’s life skills in order to promote their independence.
Each of the mindful movement therapy sessions always incorporate movement exercises for the carers themselves, teaching them techniques to centre and stabilise themselves as well as the importance of good self-care, enabling them to care for the young people through empathy and understanding.