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Activity Centre
110, Ketawalamulla Lane, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka
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Helpline
Services
MEMORY SCREENING AND ASSESSMENTS
Memory screening assesses a person’s mental abilities such as memory, thinking,concentration and attention span, language and communication skills among others.
Memory screenings involve brief questions to be answered verbally and in visual and written form. The test shows memory difficulties that require further investigation to establish dementia. This is important as memory impairment could be caused by a medical condition other than dementia that can be managed or cured such as a vitamin deficiency, depression or some other.
Memory screenings and assessments are conducted free of charge at the LAF Resource and Information Centre on every first and third Friday of the month during morning hours on appointment only. An appointment could be made by calling the LAF on 076 082 7080.
ACTIVITY CENTRE
LAF is an organization that grew organically. Lorraine Yu, the Co- Founder who conceptualized and spearheaded the activities of the Organization realised the need for an Activity Centre for persons with Dementia when she used to visit persons with dementia at their homes and in hospitals. The Activity Centre came into being in January 2012 after LAF got its own facility Resource and Information Centre in September 2011.
Arts & Crafts session and singalong session for clients with dementia at the Activity Centre.
The Centre provides a safe, non-judgemental space and a stimulating environment for persons with dementia where a team of regular volunteers facilitate social interaction and engage them in therapeutic activities. These activities help maintain cognitive function and promote the well- being of persons with dementia thus improving their quality of life. The programme supports the caregiver by reducing the burden and strain of caregiving. A person at the Activity Centre is referred to as a client though no payment for the services is levied. The typical client at the Centre is past the first stage of dementia as many families do not seek help at the early stage. The Activity Centre focuses on the quality of service it provides and functions as a model of excellence. Therefore, it can accommodate only a maximum of 20 clients per day.
The Activities:
LAF takes a person- centred approach to clients. As clients deteriorate over time activities are adjusted to enable maximum participation.
- Physical therapy where clients engage in gentle physical exercises.
- Cognitive therapy where clients engage in puzzles, word searches, memory games, reminiscing and handwriting
- Creative activities where clients engage in painting and other arts and craft activity, music, and dancing
- Social activities where clients engage in group activities, board games, discussions and storytelling.
- Celebrating Avurudu (Sinhala & Tamil New Year) and Christmas at the Activity Centre are annual events much looked forward to by clients. Other national events are celebrated as activities incorporated into the therapeutic programme.
When : Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. (except public holidays)
By whom: : The Activity Centre is run by teams of regular volunteers who after an initial sensitization works hands on, supported by senior volunteers. Thereafter, training programmes are conducted periodically and opportunities for self learning is provided through information and knowledge sharing. The Volunteers have diverse work experiences that add value to the services we provide. These volunteers gradually extend their support to other activities and events of LAF thus becoming a part of the wider LAF family.
Information regarding joining the Activity Centre can be obtained from the LAF office.
CAREGIVER SUPPORT
Caregiver Support Group meetings re-commenced in June 2022 via zoom and are held monthly every 1st and 3rd Tuesday from 7.30 pm - 8.30 pm and is led by a medical professional with two members of LAF joining in. Support groups bring together people who are going through similar experiences. This gives an opportunity for all carers, whether their family members attend the Activity Centre or not, to share personal experiences and feelings, learn coping strategies and learn more about the disease first hand thus giving them a sense of empowerment and control of the situation. The emotional support the programme provides also fills a much needed gap. As the tremendous burden on the Carer is clearly evident, guidance is also provided to maintain caregiver health, both physical and emotional.
TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR VOLUNTEERS
The Activity Centre initially functioned with a few volunteers who had heart space and they continued under the guidance and supervision of Co-Founder Lorraine. Initially there was only one Activity Centre day on Wednesdays and as the demand grew it expanded to Mondays and Fridays.
As the Organization grew, formalising internal procedures began. The regular volunteers who carry out programmes at the Activity Centre needed greater support to carry out their work more effectively. Thus the Volunteer Training Programme for regular volunteers commenced in October 2014. A minimum of one programme has been conducted annually since then. The biggest challenge is finding suitable resource persons locally as there is no other organization providing similar services in Sri Lanka.
Dementia related topics form a regular component in the programme and serve as awareness and refresher inputs for volunteers. Some of the topics included are Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST), ‘Living with and caring for persons with dementia’ (conducted by an active personality in the dementia movement), ‘How the brain functions’, ‘Nutrition for the aged’ and ‘Providing physical support to the elderly’.
The training programme also functions as a form of appreciation of the volunteers for the immense contribution they make towards LAF. Therefore, the Programme includes time for fellowship with the Board of Directors making time to join in.
Volunteers at Training Workshop - 2024
AWARENESS PROGRAMMES
With its mandate for national advocacy, LAF conducts awareness programmes about Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease covering its significant prevalence in Sri Lanka and the world, warning signs, risk factors and pathways to risk reduction, and the services provided by LAF. Education on dementia happens through various channels and media using creative formats such as puppet shows and storybooks, talks to various groups, training workshops, annual events such as the Memory Walk and the Alzheimers Run, resource material, publicity events as well as mainstream and online media communications.
National Helpline 1926.
Identification Bracelet.
HELPLINES & ID BRACELETS
LAF Helpline 011 266 7080 is available to assist enquirers on dementia information, our services and available support. Additionally, there is a National Helpline - call 1926.
LAF also provides ID Bracelets which are invaluable for persons with dementia, particularly if they tend to wander off on their own. The ID Bracelet holds the person’s name and a telephone number of a family member or carer who may be called if the person is found “lost” after a bout of wandering.