Music Sound Beam Peacehaven Bedok Day Centre G11 Season 2 – Service

SEASON 2

Reflection

The second season of this service was much more organised and we as a group were able to break away from the limited amount of activities that we had access to during the first season where we would only go meet and play with the elderly.  The activities were also very ineffective as it did not really engage all of the elder and judging by the reaction from the elderly, the activities were very boring and not dynamic.

I believe that in this season, we were more open to receiving help from the staff in Peacehaven (Stella) which helped us utilise the sound beam equipment and the spider gym (shown under in the video) which was much more advanced and enjoyable for the elderly. We were able to join hands with the physiotherapist working in Peacehaven, Andrew, to coordinate activities on the spider gym that the elderly can do that really tests the elderly’s motor skills and coordination. I believe that this change was a very big step forward for the service as a whole and looking long term, this service has become more focused to certain activities and as the spider gym and sound beam equipment is so versatile, a lot of activities can be planned for example, a performance can be coordinated by the students. This change occurred through effective communication between the Peacehaven staff and our group members. I think that when we encounter obstacles in a service or any other project, it is crucial to consult other members of the society willing to help (in this case the Peacehaven staff)

I think that a problem that I believe could be a possible obstacle would be the lack of available melodies on the sound beam machine which is important in coordinating activities on the spider gym. With repetitive songs, the elderly can be very bored as sessions go on. I think that a solution to this problem could be by being less dependant on the sound beam machine and as it is hard to install music to the machine, we could use our personal speakers or laptops to play music. This is an issue that must be addressed to the group as a whole and will be critical to be discussed upon. I think that our current set up for the service can be a good base if we are able to develop it with creative ideas to engage the elderly even more.

Looking in terms of individual development, I think that I feel much less “awkward” confronting the elderly but I think I still lack the ability to have deeper conversations with them; however, this is partly due to the language barrier between some of the elderly. Personally, I have noticed that I keep to myself a lot of the times during discussions. During the remaining seasons, I would like to work on being more engaged with the service and being a better communicator not only with the elderly but also with my service teachers and students. As I am now the logistics officer, it will be much easier for me to be engaged with the service.

I hope that our service as a team can develop the variety of available activities we can do with the elderly with the spider gym and sound beam. These activities that we think of can be passed down to the grade levels below and even be further developed by them.