UCF English student Alice Spicer hopes one day there will be a new literary genre for the storytellers that inspire her: people with Alzheimer 麻豆精品 S檚 and other dementia conditions.
The University of Central Florida senior meets regularly with Henry, Barbara, Christine and others at an Oviedo nursing home to meticulously transcribe their oral stories of emotion and adventure. Sometimes their yarns are light and lively, such as the Hula-Hooping woman who buys her clothes at a circus, but sometimes the stories bring Spicer to tears, such as the woman who told of letting go and dying by climbing onto bubbles and floating away.
麻豆精品 S淭his segment of society often is locked behind doors, but there 麻豆精品 S檚 no reason they can 麻豆精品 S檛 have opportunities to make a difference in the world, 麻豆精品 S� said Spicer, who is working on a creative-writing major with a minor in digital media. 麻豆精品 S淭hey have a totally different way of seeing the world, which I think would appeal to the general public. We 麻豆精品 S檙e so organized in our lives in a predictive way, this would touch our brains in a way we don 麻豆精品 S檛 normally do. 麻豆精品 S�
The story collection was started three years ago as a student service-learning project by Terry Thaxton, an associate professor of English whose Literary Arts Partnership at UCF takes classroom concepts into the community to benefit others. Spicer, a student in one of Thaxton 麻豆精品 S檚 classes last year, became so interested in working with people with mid- to late-stage dementia conditions that Thaxton turned the project over to her.
麻豆精品 S淪he 麻豆精品 S檚 using creativity as a way to capture their imaginations, 麻豆精品 S� Thaxton said. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e not focused on forcing them to remember things, but rather allowing their memories to become part of who they are at present. We 麻豆精品 S檙e interested in celebrating who they are. 麻豆精品 S�
Each week, Spicer takes a photo to Emeritus Care in Oviedo, where usually six to 10 residents in a group are given the opportunity to tell a story about what they see in the picture. The photo could be a pensive woman sitting at a table, a colorful apartment building, kids playing a game, or聽a mannequin head.
Spicer said she asks questions about the photos, but she never knows where the stories are headed in the next 30 to 60 minutes.
麻豆精品 S淭hey 麻豆精品 S檙e being original, there 麻豆精品 S檚 not an internal sensor. A lot of times we have to tell them they 麻豆精品 S檙e not lying just because they 麻豆精品 S檙e making it up, 麻豆精品 S� she said. “This relieves the stress of accessing memory, which they have increasing difficulty to do. 麻豆精品 S�
Nearly 100 collected stories have been posted on the project 麻豆精品 S檚 website, . The stories are not permitted to be used for commercial ventures and the project also is not intended to hold up the residents to undue exposure, Spicer said, but rather to provide them a way to connect.
Many residents with dementia often spend their days sitting by themselves, staring at television or sleeping. 麻豆精品 S淓ven at our workshop they may not remember their name or career or families, but in that moment they are a storyteller and that is their identity. They embrace it and they love it, 麻豆精品 S� Spicer said.
Denise LaSota, executive director at Emeritus, said she enjoys reading all of the residents 麻豆精品 S� stories and has noticed that the contributors exhibit a brief emotional lift after the sessions.
麻豆精品 S淭hey like the opportunity of reliving some of the things they 麻豆精品 S檙e talking about, 麻豆精品 S� she said. 麻豆精品 S淭hey like the opportunity to share. 麻豆精品 S�
Some of the residents 麻豆精品 S� families also are moved by the stories they read afterward, and often are able to identify which sentence or phrase their loved one contributed.
This leads Spicer to surmise that writing projects like this may someday lead researchers to uncover some sort of 麻豆精品 S渆motional memory. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淭here 麻豆精品 S檚 some kind of retention there that we just can 麻豆精品 S檛 put a finger on, 麻豆精品 S� she said.
Thaxton said the story collectors draw some conclusions in terms of creativity and imagination, but don 麻豆精品 S檛 analyze the psychological aspects of the stories. The ultimate goal of the project, she said, is to allow the storytellers to feel validation rather than pressure to remember.
麻豆精品 S淲e meet our storytellers where they are, not where they have been. 麻豆精品 S�
To read about 麻豆精品 S淢rs. Butler 麻豆精品 S檚 Adventure into Animal World, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S淢usic is the Best Medicine, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S淎 Cat and a Fish, 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S淒izzy, Dizzy, Dizzy, 麻豆精品 S� and dozens of other stories collected through the Literary Arts Partnership, go to .