{"id":2363,"date":"2026-10-22T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/22\/a-drumming-circle-for-people-living-with-dementia\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T06:00:00","slug":"a-drumming-circle-for-people-living-with-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/askneurology.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/22\/a-drumming-circle-for-people-living-with-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0A Drumming Circle for People Living with Dementia."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Creating communication-accessible environments is central to inclusive dementia care. The speech and language therapy (SLT) team in RVH received leadership funding from Alzheimer Scotland\u2019s \u2018Connecting People, Connecting Support\u2019 AHP policy document.\u00a0 We chose to develop a project for inclusive communication environments by offering support to the new Meeting Centre based in Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH), Dundee.<\/p>\n

Meeting Centres are social groups run in communities for people living with dementia.\u00a0 The RVH Meeting Centre affectionately named \u2018The Clubbie\u2019, opened in August 2025 to inpatients.\u00a0 It is the first time a Meeting Centre has been set up within an NHS inpatient unit for older adults.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The SLT project goal is to embed total communication strategies within the Meeting Centre at grassroots level and to gather feedback and opinions on the approach.\u00a0 We have been working alongside the team to offer training, modelling and developing resources within the Meeting Centre.\u00a0 Our long term view is to share these resources across NHS Tayside.\u00a0 One of our \u2018Hints and Tips<\/a>\u2019 resources is already on Alzheimer Scotland website with a further communication manual that you can find here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Meeting Centre creates a space where meaningful activities are offered such as current affairs, news, conversations \/ social interaction, games, art and music and a range of physical seated activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My colleague Rosie has training in therapeutic drumming circles and I approached her as a way to offer an innovative new activity within the Centre.\u00a0 Our goals were to promote attention, listening & following instructions, support turn-taking and create positive wellbeing through a sense of community, interaction and grounding.\u00a0 Drumming is a fun, hands-on activity that encompasses visual and auditory processes to focus on the present moment by providing a shared pulse.\u00a0 There are many researched cognitive\/social\/ wellbeing\/motor benefits of participating in a drumming circle.<\/p>\n

The group ran with a cohort of inpatients and invited community patients as well as inpatients and carers from Kingsway Care Centre.\u00a0 Some family members stayed and became involved either with their own drum or supporting their family member.\u00a0 Drums and musical chimes were played in different activity segments of free-play, watching and listening to the leader and following each other.<\/p>\n

Things we noticed\u2026.<\/p>\n