Sound Therapy

According to an article in today’s Irish Medical Times, wanting to walk is one of the most common challenging behaviours. Doctors were discussing the treatment of elderly patients in hospitals in Ireland and Dr. Cillian Twomey, consultant physician in Geriatric Medicine, Cork University Hospital, gave the example of a man with dementia who liked to walk around. This bothered other patients so the response was to confine him, rather than to transfer him to a facility where walking would be possible. Too often, Dr. Tomey continued, the response is to sedate patients rather than answer their needs.

Dr Shaun O’Keeffe, consultant in Geriatric and General Medicine at Merlin Park University Hospital, Galway, was concerned that safety has become the over-riding consideration at the cost of quality of life in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. He said that focus on safety at the expense of other things can mean that calls for help -especially challenging behaviours - can be seen as symptoms to be suppressed.

This last bit made me think of Tony Osgood’s brilliant article ” ‘Suit you, Sir?’ Challenging Behaviour in Learning Disability Services.” Tony is a lecturer in Intellectual and Developmental Disability at the Tizard Centre in the University of Kent. Before that he was a behaviour specialist in a challenging needs service so he has a wealth of experience and research to call upon.

He is never going to win awards for avoiding people’s toes and what he writes can make uncomfortable reading but when I first read this article it brought home to me the true nature of so-called challenging behaviour. I wish adobe allowed me to copy chunks but as it doesn’t you can find the complete article here.   He explains the origins of challenging behaviour, or exotic communication as he sees it, how it’s often dealt with within organisations and how it can be approached with more understanding.

I understand the patient with dementia who was desperate to walk. In the summer especially, faced with a computer screen in the office, I hear the allotment calling. By the afternoon my head is aching and my attitude to others becomes increasingly unsociable - woe betide the poor person who calls then with an offer of cheaper phone rates - they find me distinctly “challenging”.

This was part of the thinking when we set up the Music Gym. We used to wonder how we’d feel, always in small rooms, and how different it would be to have lots of space. That’s why we took the largest, highest hall we could find although it costs more and it makes the setting-up time longer. And there’s lots of room to walk…………..

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