Life Story

Product Information

Foster families and residential staff should be encouraged to record the story of the child's stay with them as fully as possible. Foster carers must 'encourage the child to reflect on and understand her/his history, according to the child's age, and to keep appropriate memorabilia'. All children in care should have a memory book and foster carers should be encouraged to compile a photograph album and Memory Book recording information and significant events throughout the time the child lives with them. The Memory Book is not the same as the Life Story Book, but some of the information from the Memory Book and some of the photographs should be incorporated into this. The foster carer's Memory Book could include: Children deserve the very best life story work, and this means dedicating the necessary resources to every single child. As Charlie’s social worker commented: “Your work highlights how much time and effort it takes and how much these babies are worth it!” It helps family members develop a closer bond with the person with dementia, through sharing their stories. Rio, R. (2009) Connecting through music with people with dementia: a guide for caregivers, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

DemTalk is a free online toolkit giving guidance on communication with people living with dementia. Different versions of the toolkit have been developed for family carers and health and care staff. Life Story work can help encourage better communication and an understanding of the person’s needs and wishes. This can inform their care and ensure that it is provided in a positive and person-centred way. So why wait? Begin the journey of a lifetime with StoryKeeper. Record your life story and create a legacy that will be cherished for generations to come. With our support, every day can be a step towards completing your very own “ Story a day book.”Charlie’s adoptive mum said of his books: “I’ve cried a fair bit reading it. You’ve dealt with the sensitive issues so well, thank you for the time and care you’ve put into researching all the details and describing hard truths in a gentle way. It is so reassuring and helpful to know that we have a tool that can help us with an earlier age as well as the more detailed one for when he can understand things on a deeper level.” Yet for children who don’t grow up in their birth families, many of these memories and their context can be lost. Poet Lemn Sissay wrote: Birthdays, Christmases and other family celebrations/outings/holidays etc. - photos, favourite places etc; Tony Ryan worked as the Adoption Team Manager for Catholic Care, Diocese of Leeds and the Principal Fostering and Adoption Officer for Leeds City Council. He is now retired. Our service is designed with one goal in mind: to create a beautifully crafted life story book that encapsulates the essence of your journey. Whether it’s your own autobiography or a grandparent memory book, we provide the prompts and guidance you need to weave together the threads of your life into a compelling narrative.

Then a simple account about the decisions made by the social workers, police and the judge will help a child begin to understand who made the decisions about their future. Go with the flow and let the person talk freely about their life – you don’t need to start from the beginning The book explores when to start life story work, how to communicate with children and help them talk about their feelings, how to work with particular groups of children, e.g. disabled children or those who have been sexually abused, and how to use life story work in different settings. Separate from the court process, we can spend time with a wide range of birth family members gathering information, pictures, objects and anything else they want to share. We then co-write the life story book alongside the adopters so they can have input into language and feel ownership of the book. You can design a life story box/book/film/song in any way meaningful to the person with dementia however, if you are looking for a more structured template, The Alzheimer’s Society & Dementia UK have resources to print which can be found below:Music can lift the mood or spirit of a person with dementia – and can help them to remember good times in their lives (for example, when they met someone special or attended a memorable event, such as a concert, play or family celebration). Guidance on life story work for social workers by Kent County Council (includes an example of a completed life story book)

All adopted children have experienced separation and loss and they will have some attachment issues. Those who have been neglected or abused will have further difficulties resulting from their insecure attachments. They will have a low sense of self worth, a mistrust of adults and a perception of the world as an unsafe place. All children with a plan for adoption must have a Life Story Book. Making a Life Story Book is more than creating a photograph album with identifying sentences giving dates, places and names. It is an account of a child's life in words, pictures and documents, and provides an opportunity for the child to explore and understand their early history and life before their adoption. A memory box scheme for hospitals has been successfully introduced in South Staffordshire by Age UK. It has given patients, who might otherwise be alone and without visitors, a chance to relive old memories and communicate better. The patients have been given the opportunity to select items from the boxes and sit down and have a chat with an Age UK volunteer. The scheme has helped ease the workload on nurses. Memory boards If social workers have completed the book it needs to be shared with you, the adoptive parent, first. This will allow you to understand the significance of the information contained in it and the relevance of the social worker’s comments. Our dedicated team at StoryKeeper is committed to ensuring that your journey into the past is a seamless and enjoyable one. With our user-friendly platform and tailored prompts, writing a book about your life becomes an engaging and fulfilling experience.Reflecting on our lives can be emotional so sensitivity is needed. Don’t be afraid of this but think carefully about what information the person would want to be shared. Social workers, adoptive parents and foster carers, residential staff, teachers and nursery nurses wanting to use life story work as a way of helping children. What you will find in this book