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Kontos P, Miller KL, Mitchell GJ, et al. Presence redefined: The reciprocal nature of engagement between elder-clowns and persons with dementia. Dementia (London). 2016;16(1):46-66doi: 10.1177/1471301215580895.
Kontos, P., Miller, K. L., Mitchell, G. J., & Stirling-Twist, J. (2017). Presence redefined: The reciprocal nature of engagement between elder-clowns and persons with dementia. Dementia (London, England), 16(1), 46-66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301215580895
Kontos, Pia, et al. "Presence redefined: The reciprocal nature of engagement between elder-clowns and persons with dementia." Dementia (London, England) vol. 16,1 (2017): 46-66. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301215580895
Kontos P, Miller KL, Mitchell GJ, Stirling-Twist J. Presence redefined: The reciprocal nature of engagement between elder-clowns and persons with dementia. Dementia (London). 2017 Jan;16(1):46-66. doi: 10.1177/1471301215580895. Epub 2016 Jul 27. PMID: 25908500; PMCID: PMC4956469.
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Dementia (London). 2017 Jan;16(1):46-66. doi: 10.1177/1471301215580895. Epub 2016 Jul 27.

Presence redefined: The reciprocal nature of engagement between elder-clowns and persons with dementia.

Dementia (London, England)

Pia Kontos, Karen-Lee Miller, Gail Joyce Mitchell, Jan Stirling-Twist

Affiliations

  1. Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, Toronto, Canada.
  2. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
  3. School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, Canada.
  4. Independent Consultant, Peterborough, Canada.

PMID: 25908500 PMCID: PMC4956469 DOI: 10.1177/1471301215580895

Abstract

Elder-clowns are a recent innovation in arts-based approaches to person-centred dementia care. They use improvisation, humour, and empathy, as well as song, dance, and music. We examined elder-clown practice and techniques through a 12-week programme with 23 long-term care residents with moderate to severe dementia in Ontario, Canada. Analysis was based on qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations of video-recorded clown-resident interactions and practice reflections. Findings highlight the reciprocal nature of clown-resident engagement and the capacity of residents to initiate as well as respond to verbal and embodied engagement. Termed relational presence, this was achieved and experienced through affective relationality, reciprocal playfulness, and coconstructed imagination. These results highlight the often overlooked capacity of individuals living with dementia to be deliberately funny, playful, and imaginative. Relational presence offers an important perspective with which to rethink care relationships between individuals living with dementia and long-term care staff.

Keywords: arts-based; humour; joy; nonverbal communication; relationality; sadness; videography

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