A Personal Account of the Project

Project Manager, Kathryn Arden writes about her experiences throughout the project.

The Original Concept

It was initially envisaged that the reading groups in the day centres would be set up to run along the lines of a conventional reading group, where interested people would get together to choose books to read and then come back and discuss their reading. The funding for the project would be used to purchase multiple copies of titles chosen by the groups. Participants would be encouraged to write reviews of the books they had read, which would be shared with other readers via book review leaflets, taped reviews and a website. This would facilitate links between the reading groups in the centres and potentially readers using libraries and in other reading groups.

How The Project Evolved

Following my initial visits to the day centres, it became clear that this original idea might have to be revised. I became more convinced that a different approach was needed when I ran introductory sessions in the centres, during which I encouraged people to talk about their own reading habits and interests. The physical and mental frailty of the people attending the centres, eyesight problems, low powers of concentration and memory loss were all factors affecting the practical running of a reading group along conventional lines. Other factors included the wide variety of needs and abilities among clients and the difficulty of forming groups of regular members as attendance at the centres can vary.

The Reading Group Sessions

After some background reading and research into other reading and reminiscence work with older people, I drew up a programme of six sessions to run weekly or fortnightly in six centres. I wanted to run an activity that would interest both those who enjoyed reading and those who did not generally read for pleasure, and meet the needs of visually impaired participants. Therefore, I based each session around a theme which everyone would be able to relate to in some way, and selected poems and readings from books that would be entertaining to listen to and prompt memories and personal responses. The themes I used were Childhood, Schooldays, Travel, Funny Poems, Wartime and Christmas.

How the Sessions Worked

During the sessions, I read extracts from books and poems and encouraged people to talk about what they had heard and share the memories these evoked for them. The sessions lasted from 30 minutes to an hour, with anything from 2 to 12 people taking part. People with a wide range of needs and abilities enjoyed attending and benefited from participating in the sessions. I found that people with visual impairments particularly enjoyed the exposure to books, which they could no longer read for themselves. People with dementia also took part and responded well.

The Benefits of the Reading Group Sessions

The reading group sessions provided a mentally stimulating activity and generated new topics of conversation. They enabled people to get to know each other and helped the staff get to know their clients better as individuals. As a small group activity, the reading group sessions gave people an opportunity to share their thoughts and views and be listened to. This in turn helped them develop communication skills, feel valued and have greater self-esteem and confidence. At the same time, the exposure to books and poems generated interest in books and poetry among those able to read as well as bringing great pleasure to people no longer able to read for themselves.

Comments from clients

“ It was an activity to look forward to, something a bit different.”

“It helped me to enjoy something I’ve always liked.”

“Always been interested in books and poetry, but it was nice for someone else to read because my eyesight is poor.”

“I liked listening and sharing memories of the past.”

Comments from staff

“ Certain clients took part in this project that would not normally take part in other activities. Also, those clients are still talking about it.”

“It has given the clients a feeling of self worth because their points were listened to and included, however big or small they were.”

“Positive feedback about how they enjoyed it, and their moods seemed lifted for the majority of the afternoon, often recalling back to the sessions. Some clients became more confident and vocal as the weeks progressed.”

“For the hour, they became a close group. The sessions enabled clients to reminisce, talk about their youth, life experiences. Took photocopies of the poems etc to share with their friends, carers, relatives.”

Summary

Fully Booked was a very successful project based on a simple idea, which made a significant impact on those who took part. I hope that the resource packs will enable other groups to benefit from similar reading group activities, thereby widening the impact of the project.