College students produce twiddle boards for care home residents with dementia

Jordan Weaver, Carey Norris, Josh Dowse and Anders Rowe created the boards, which have a range of household fixtures and fittings attached, and delivered them to residents in Seymour House during their last day at college last month.

The boards, which are widely used by dementia homes across the country, allow residents to fiddle with certain objects and unlock memories that they may have otherwise forgotten.

"I am so grateful to the students and the college for agreeing to make the twiddle boards for us," home manager Dawn Wallburton said. “I saw the idea for them in a magazine and have heard about the benefits of them for anyone living with dementia.

“They are quite expensive though to buy and so I put out an appeal for help and the college kindly agreed that it would be a lovely work experience project for carpentry students.

“For us the boards are an activity for the residents and everyday items such as these can trigger a part of someone’s past, particularly if they don’t have family who are able to share information with us about them.

“In another home a resident took apart a plug and socket completely and then put it back together again. We didn’t know anything about him but from this he remembered that he had been an electrician. Residents can’t always tell us things and that is why these boards are amazing."

The college students, who did this project as part of their work experience, said they found it highly rewarding despite not knowing what a twiddle board was originally.

Work experience team leader Helene Keep said: “This was a great opportunity for our pre 16 students to engage in work experience which has had such a positive effect on the residents and the students themselves.

"They really showed their mature attitude and this will be an advantage when they look at further study, employment or apprenticeship opportunities. They should be very proud.”