In this session, we did a Pictionary game, where we had to draw something and the PWD had to guess what it was that we were drawing. We came into this activity hoping to stimulate their creative skills, hoping they could use some skills that they would not often use otherwise. In this activity, we used markers, color pencils and pieces of paper and we drew simple things: Fruit, cars, animals, and other things that would be a bit simpler for them to recognize. After they guessed, we would try and talk about what it is that we drew, for example, if it was fruit, we would talk to them about what fruit they like and things like that. I think this activity went quite well, because it didn’t require too much equipment, and it was quite simple for the PWD to understand. If we were to do this activity again, I wouldn’t change much, except possibly doing it in groups of 4 instead of two, as it gives a chance for more communication.
Today’s session was quite successful because most of the residents responded well to the things that we were drawing; however, it would be better to pan out from drawing into slightly more diverse activities in the future because it would also stimulate various parts of the residents’ brain, such as their fine motor skills.
Written by: Jack Cleary