In this episode of Senior Living LIVE!, we’re joined by Regional Director of Dementia Training for The Arbor Company Susan Robbins, to learn about Time Out, an approach similar to the sports term we all grew up with that provides meaningful outcomes for even the simplest daily tasks.
Time Out allows caregivers to take a moment for themselves and regroup when a senior is reluctant to receive assistance to complete a necessary action (for example taking a shower or brushing their teeth or eating a nutritious meal).
Time Out isn’t just for our nurses and caregivers at The Arbor Company—family caregivers at home can also utilize this approach. With an empathetic mindset that helps you walk away and “reset” rather than force an outcome, both of you will be able to maintain a strong bond that brings joy rather than frustration. Watch the full video to learn more about how we put this approach into our daily practice and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our dedicated team.
It’s much more than memory care to us. It’s about ensuring the happiest, healthiest lifestyle for the ones we cherish most.
Video Transcript
Introduction to Memory Care Innovations
Hello, everyone, and welcome into Senior Living Live. My name is Melissa. Thank you so much for being with us here today. Well, the memory care team at The Arbor Company is under our spotlight today, thanks to a new program they're beginning to roll out in all our Arbor memory care communities.
It's called Time Out, and we've got Susan Robbins. She is here today to tell you all about it. Susan, hello. How are you?
I am doing great and really excited to explain our new program to everyone.
Yeah. I'm excited, to unveil it as well. So we're gonna, dive right into it. But, of course, before we do, we always wanna hear a little bit about you and your background with the Arbor company, Susan.
Well, I'm excited to say I have been with Arbor coming up on fifteen years, and it is just a real pleasure to work with the teams, the families.
And we're always coming up with new ways to approach and enhance our residents living with dementia, their lives to get quality to it. And it's great to be a part of that team.
Yeah. And as a part of that team, as you just mentioned, the group is constantly thinking of, creative ways to help all of our residents living with dementia. And now we've got this new initiative called Time Out. Can you tell us what it is?
Understanding the Time Out Program
Well, Time Out is giving when you're a caregiver, caregivers can have long days. And if you love somebody with dementia, you've had those moments where, what do I do? I need them to do something, and I need the the skills to help take care of them and give them that. But sometimes you have to back off yourself. So Time Out is a tool that we use to allow us to provide the best care and have the most meaningful outcomes of even the simplest tasks.
Yeah. And, you know, we think about that term time out, and I'm a sports buff. Right? Always have been. And in sports, you know, you take time outs, to help coaches and players sort of regroup, and kind of refocus on the strategies to help them achieve, a winning outcome against the opponent, and this is kind of what that sounds a lot like. So how did, the Arbor company come up with this? And can you give us some examples of what this looks like in a normal, day to day use?
Oh. Well and it is. It is a sports analogy.
Because in football or other games, the coach calls out calls the time out, which means you need to reset and regroup because what you're doing is not working.
You're not able to achieve that goal. So we're now applying it to providing care and interaction with our residents living with dementia. So if but we're timing ourselves out so that we can regroup because we've got the brain that's still able to reset, but we're giving validating that person living with dementia their needs and their feelings in the moment by us taking a time out.
Yes. And before we get into sort of a rapid fire q and a to dive a little bit deeper into this, can you give some examples of what that looks like in normal use?
Practical Applications of Time Out
Well, I will share one of the biggest things is when somebody needs to take a shower. Those are personal things. We don't like talking about those things in public, but it is very much part of what people living with dementia need our help with. So if you approach and you're getting that pushback, that resistance, you have to stop and regroup. Take yourself a time out. Take that deep breath. Sometimes it means actually walking away.
Sometimes it's just stepping back and resetting, and what can I do differently than what I just did?
Because you can change your approach, but the expectation is the person living with dementia is not able to change. So we have to change. It's that reminder of how we can best help that person.
The Importance of Resetting Interactions
Yes. And this is a very good tip for literally anyone, that is, either working with, living with, somebody who is a loved one or is a an individual who lives in a a memory care community on how we can all sort of best handle each and every one of the situations that occur, during that care. So with that said, we're gonna get into the rapid q and a questions here. So what does it mean to, quote, take a time out? And and we've kind of touched on it here, for those providing memory care to loved ones or family members. So now we're kind of talking less about our nurses and those who are skilled into this and those who maybe don't have the skills but are learning, Susan.
Yep.
Well, it's how we approach somebody living with dementia can make all the difference in that interaction.
And sometimes we can catch ourselves, no. Don't do that.
If that's how you've started your interaction because you're trying to stop something from happening, you need to stop and time yourself out and reapproach.
Because the person when living with dementia, you've just startled it, escalated whatever it was you were trying to stop.
So stopping yourself, taking that deep breath, stepping back, and thinking, oh, can I help you? Instead of no, don't do that.
But in the moment, it's hard to do that. So we want everybody this helping somebody living with dementia have that skill set. But more importantly is give your permission, yourself permission to reset and know it's okay.
You get that second chance to make it right for the best outcome for both of you.
So we use the sports analogy, equating time outs, to how a coach, employs them in a ballgame.
So let's tie that together. How is that similar, and how can caregivers use this method?
When you start to interact with somebody first of all, you don't take that time out sometimes even before you address somebody and think about how you're gonna interact with that person.
You know? Have I stopped and watched and watched their body language? Did I meet them where they are?
And if I haven't you know, if somebody's sleepy and you come in, good morning. It's time to get up. Let's get going. And they're like, oh, well, the cover's over. That doesn't work. But if you've mistakenly done that and then you just wanna stop and say, oh, I'm so sorry, and come back.
And it's giving yourself permission. I think the key to this and where we're having the most success is letting everyone know it's okay to stop and restart.
It's okay to take that time out.
And it also helps with if somebody sees something that's like, hey. I think I can handle that better.
Instead of coming in and two people tried to help somebody with something, you can just time each other out and swap out.
So but you didn't have to have a conversation over the person living with dementia because you both know it, and it supports each other, and it creates those good outcomes.
You know?
You are known, for being a memory care expert.
We utilize your knowledge all the time. What is the strategy behind the time out method?
Strategies for Effective Caregiving
The biggest strategy, I think, is when we care for somebody, we have so many things we want to get done and so many things you want to accomplish.
And when you're getting pushback, it actually takes longer to accomplish something than stopping and restarting and resetting the interaction with them.
It's can be as simple as having a conversation, helping somebody get dressed, encouraging somebody to come to an activity, encouraging them to brush their own hair. You know, if it's not working, we're just gonna stop, and maybe I can come back and get you to brush. I'll start it with you because I didn't show you the hairbrush first, and I didn't know what we were doing. But it gives you the opportunity and the permission to reset each interaction.
And I realize I've said reset multiple times. It's time timing yourself out to create a calmness within yourself to continue with what you're doing.
Team Collaboration in Memory Care
Now how does the Arbor company staff utilize, these time outs as a team?
As a team, we work together because we're always you know, our residents living in our memory care neighborhoods, we all care for them.
We have people that are assigned to different people and, different residents, but everybody cares for everybody. So it's learning from each other. Why did I have following up back afterwards, it's like, why did I have to take a time out? What could have I done initially? And sharing those things with each other so we can share our time out opportunities, which gives you the opportunity to share with each other what wasn't working as well as what did work.
Therefore, we don't repeat the same things that aren't working, but we're sharing what does. So every interaction can turn into a positive.
Got it. Now how, can you come up with a different strategy while you are in the midst of taking that time out?
First of all, knowing that resident.
It's really valuable to know what their likes are, their dislikes. You know, do I enjoy music?
Do I need did I come in and the TV was on and I didn't ask permission to turn it off first so that they could pay attention to what I'm saying? It knowing that person, and it helps everybody understand the true importance of those deep connections of those little things and the little habits.
You know? Do I want my toothpaste do I want water on my toothbrush before you put the toothpaste on? Or do I want the toothpaste and then the water? That sounds like such a simple thing. But for somebody living with dementia, I can get focused on one step, and you need to have those in the right order. And the time out is like, oh, okay. So I have to take the toothpaste all the way back off because I didn't do it in the right order, and it lets you have the time to do those things.
Adapting Strategies When Time Outs Fail
What should you do then if your time out does not work?
If it doesn't work and you've reapproached, you can time yourself out again and leave. And maybe that's the time that you swap off and have somebody else come in and help you.
And we all work together as a team knowing, hey. Look. I've timed myself out. I'm just not connecting connecting with this person today.
Maybe you can, and I'll help with somebody else so that we can change that or brainstorm and go back. Because it's also allows you is it as important for me to finish this task right now, or can it be done later?
And many times, it can be done later. Sometimes later is an hour, and sometimes later can only be five minutes. But that five minutes can make all the difference in your interaction and swapping people.
It's just one more tool to add to the toolbox here in, helping those, who are living with dementia.
Resources for Caregivers
Great, excuse me, great question and answer session, Susan. We always love having you here. We always love getting your perspective on all things memory care. And, we certainly think that this new program is only going to enhance the memory care experience at all of our Arbor communities and for maybe those of you who are watching at home that can implement them at home with your loved ones. Thank you so much as always for being with us, Susan.
Thank you.
Now if you enjoyed this video with Susan Robbins, head on over to our website. It's www.seniorlivinglive.com. There we have videos all about the senior living experience. They are available on demand twenty four seven, and they are all free.
Thank you so much for being a part of Senior Living Live.
Have a great day, everybody.
