Therapeutic Recreation & Activity Department

The Ontario-Finnish Resthome Association provides recreation and leisure services in our Long-Term Care (LTC) Home, Mauno Kaihla Koti (MKK), and in our Assisted Living Building, Kotitalo (KOT). We currently have four full-time staff and four part-time/casual staff that plan, organize, and implement groups for all residents in these two sites, which is close to 180 residents! 

We have so many different types of groups that we provide – everything from games of chance, to musical entertainment, to spiritual groups, to monthly or seasonal special events, etc., etc., etc.! We own and operate a wheelchair accessible bus in which we go on weekly trips in and around Sault Ste. Marie two to three times per week. We offer in-door and out-door activities as we have a large courtyard area that is not only beautiful to view, but accessible to all.  

View Our Therapeutic Activities Below

Doll Therapy

Doll Therapy is the intervention in which life-like, weighted, newborn baby dolls are introduced to residents who have dementia. The dolls are considered “real babies” and are treated as such and residents are encouraged to care for them, while being lead by a Recreation Therapist. Doll Therapy is used with appropriate residents who have dementia in our LTC Home, Mauno Kaihla Koti, that have been assessed by our Recreation Therapists.

Residents, regardless if male or female, can experience feelings of purpose, love, joy, and caring when doll therapy is used. It can help decrease anxiety, agitation, and restlessness, and foster a sense of peace and calm. It can facilitate socialization and communication as well, as residents will rock, sing, and interact with the dolls. Often this will decrease responsive behaviours as well as wandering and exit seeking behaviours. This type of therapy has also been known to bring elicit happy memories of early parenthood, promoting reminiscing, and help to make seniors feel needed and useful.  

Our Doll Therapy Program was researched, developed, and implemented by a Brock University Therapeutic Recreation Intern in the summer of 2016.

Montessori Interventions

OFRA’s Recreation Therapists have been trained in DementiAbility Methods: The Montessori Way and utilize it during their 1:1 visits, as well as for small group activities with the residents of our LTC Home, Mauno Kaihla Koti. The following description of this method is from the following website.

“DementiAbility Methods: The Montessori Way™, is an innovative approach to working with older adults living with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The DementiAbility Methods are based on the educational philosophies of famed childhood educator Dr. Maria Montessori. Dr. Cameron Camp, Research Scientist, Educator and Author, from Cleveland, Ohio, discovered that Dr. Montessori’s philosophies and principles could be effectively adapted to dementia programming. Research has provided clear evidence of increased levels of engagement and participation in activities when Montessori approaches are implemented with persons with dementia.

Our vision is to create an environment where people living with dementia can achieve success and have the opportunity to live each day with meaning and purpose. DementiAbility strives to remove the focus that is too often placed on disability by replacing it with a focus on ability.

Our mission is to spread evidence-based knowledge about how to effectively support those living with dementia, and to provide the day-to-day resources needed by those providing the care. By offering education that connects knowledge with practice, the person with dementia can be empowered to live an enriched, purposeful and meaningful life. Using a multi-disciplinary approach we teach individuals, groups and organizations to embrace the DementiAbility Methods as a philosophy of care.
 
When staff, caregivers and family learn the DementiAbility Methods and have put them into effect, individuals living with dementia can enjoy the benefits of a prepared environment that has been set up to expose the best of their abilities. DementiAbility allows for multi-disciplinary non-pharmacological interventions from all members of a team so that working together, they can address the many complex needs of those living with dementia. This method can help the caregiver understand dementia while offering practical ideas so that they can better support their loved one.” 

Music & Memory Interventions

OFRA became a MUSIC & MEMORY® Certified Care Organizations in 2014. Recreation Therapists and Activity Aides were trained on how to “…create and provide personalized playlists using iPods/MP3 Players and related digital audio systems that enable those struggling with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other cognitive and physical challenges to reconnect with the world through music-triggered memories.” We use this program to help our residents express themselves and to elicit memories from days gone by. We have found that it also helps with communication and to assist with managing emotional distress in individuals with dementia.

Our Music & Memory program was researched, developed, and implemented by a Brock University Therapeutic Recreation Intern in the summer of 2014.
For more information on “Music & Memory”, please visit the following website:
https://musicandmemory.org/about/mission-and-vision/ 

Snoezelen Room

Snoezelen (pronounced SNOO-zeh-lehn) was developed in the Netherlands, and is a contraction of the Dutch words meaning to seek or explore (snuffelen) and to relax or doze (doezelen). Our LTC Home, Mauno Kaihla Koti, has a Snoezelen room in which OFRA’s Recreation Therapists utilize various multi-sensory equipment and resources when providing 1:1 Therapeutic Recreation visits to the residents. These interventions can either, promote relaxation and help to reduce agitation and anxiety, or, they can also be beneficial in helping to stimulate residents and have them engaged in their environment.

Our Snoezelen room, developed in 2003, is equipped with a bubble tube, light spray, wall projector with color wheel, music and video systems, as well as several hand held tactile, visual, olfactory, and auditory objects and resources to provide various light effects, soothing sounds, familiar smells, and meaningful touches. We also have a portable Snoezelen cart that can be used for those residents who are required to be in bed for various reasons – we can bring Snoezelen to them in the comfort of their own room. The room is utilized 3 times per week with 3-4 residents per session, with each session lasting anywhere from 15 – 60 minutes.  

For more information on Snoezelen please see the following website: http://www.snoezelen.info/history/ 

Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality is the intervention in which computer generated technology is used to produce three-dimensional images to create a life-like environment. The environment that is created uses multi-sensory information (i.e. visual, auditory) to simulate a real world environment. The users of the Virtual Reality technology are able to manipulate what they see, giving them the illusion that they are actually present in the virtual environment.


Residents at OFRA wear a headset that covers the eyes completely, eliminating the ability of the resident to see the real world around them. This creates a totally immersive experience and allows them to focus on what they are seeing and hearing in the virtual world. They also have 2 hand controllers that allow them to control the virtual experience. Examples of virtual environments that the residents can explore include, but are not limited to, various nature experiences (i.e. in a field with wildlife, under the sea looking at fish, etc.) and using Google Maps street view to travel to almost any location on the planet.  These multi-sensory environments can stimulate memories as residents recall similar experiences they have had in the past, see the house that they used to live in, or travel again to a location they visited in the past. They can also provide residents with the ability to have experiences that they thought were now beyond their reach. These experiences can provide a means of “escape”, encourage relaxation, and reduce anxiety and stress.


Our Virtual Reality interventions were researched and developed by a Brock University Therapeutic Recreation Intern in the summer of 2019.


DROM Interventions

DROM is an intervention that is a unique combination of drumming (the DRUM), meditation (the OM), and music, bringing together energy and calm, movement and mindfulness in an easy, non-judgemental atmosphere, all while having FUN drumming on an exercise ball (DROM, 2021).


For the residents at OFRA, DROM interventions provide benefits in 5 different domains:

1. Physical – helps prevent decline in fine/gross motor skills, mobility and strength, reduces the risk of chronic disease such as heart disease, improves immunity and sleep and decreases stress and pain

2. Cognitive – accesses the entire brain and synchronizes the left and right hemispheres, improves concentration, creativity and focus

3. Emotional – allows for the expression of negative emotions/feelings, helps reduce anxiety and stress and promotes positive feelings

4. Social – group drumming provides an opportunity for social connection, reducing the risk of isolation

5. Spiritual – the drumming and meditation parts of DROM can lead to improved self-connection and spiritual connection – feel grounded, centered and inspired

(DROM, 2021)


Our DROM intervention was researched and developed by a University of Lethbridge Therapeutic Recreation Intern in the winter of 2022.