Autumn 1997
Jane Roberts from Andlaw House, Sense South West describes how aromatherapy oils can help with communication
Sense opened its first home in the South West - Andlaw House - in 1994, for ten deafblind and rubella damaged adults ranging in age from 17 to 40. Before any of the residents arrived at Andlaw House, a number of issues had to be discussed and policies written before our registration procedure could go ahead. One of the main issues was communication with deafblind people. Communication is the exchange of information by any means possible - so the use of sign language, pictures, drawings, objects of reference (for example, holding a sponge would indicate a bath or shower) or any other means of communication could be used. This is ideal when you are planning an activity, but how can you make people who have multi-sensory impairments understand such concepts as days of the week?
Setting up a scent system
After lengthy discussion, myself - Jane Roberts - Unit Leader, Anna Dowling - Personnel Officer and Shaun Gibbons - Centre Manager came up with an idea. "Could we use different scents to convey different messages to deafblind people, by allocating a different scent to a different day of the week?"
The right oils
Initially, we met with the Body Shop who put together a range of perfumes and oils that we could use. The first problems came when they decided not to sell a particular scent anymore, and since it was exclusive to Body Shop, we couldn’t buy it anywhere else either. Further discussions were held with a local aromatherapist - Heather Lamacraft. She suggested that it would be better to use only pure essential oils, rather than scents and perfumes.
Essential oils are considered to be the plant’s vegetable hormones and are extracted from various parts of the plants. The use of these organic essences is called aromatherapy which is used for healing purposes and the maintenance of vitality.
As we looked at this, it became apparent that if we were going to use this system then only certain oils would be suitable. Before using any essential oil it is advisable to seek the help of a trained aromatherapist, as use of some essential oils can cause some people to have severe allergic reactions. For example, fennel oil, which is extracted from the seeds of the fennel plant, should not be used during pregnancy or by or with people who have epilepsy, as in some cases it has been known to induce labour and epileptic seizures. The same is true of rosemary oil.
An oil a day
Eventually we decided which oils should be used on which days of the week. These were:
Monday - BERGAMOT
This oil is from the rind of a small orange-like fruit, native to Italy. It is used for a variety of problems, one being a cure for that ‘Monday morning feeling’.
Tuesday - MANDARIN
This oil is extracted from the peel of the ripe fruit of the citrus tree. The oil is used to relieve stress, restlessness and nervous tension.
Wednesday - LEMON
Again this oil is extracted from the rind of the fruit. In aromatherapy, it is used for energising the body and boosting circulation.
Thursday - SANDALWOOD
The oil is extracted from the roots and heart wood of the tree. It is especially good for tension, stress and emotional problems.
Friday - LIME
This oil is extracted from the peel of the fruit but unlike the other oils it is extracted when the fruit is unripe. It is used in aromatherapy for the treatment of mental exhaustion, energising the body and to encourage circulation.
Saturday - LAVENDER
This is probably one of the best known oils and is extracted from the flowering tips of the evergreen shrub. It is usually the number one choice for the first aid kit at home, and is used for aches and pains, relaxation and restlessness.
Sunday - ROSE
This is the most famous of the flowers, and the oil comes from the petals. It is used as an anti-depressant and will give an overall feeling of wellbeing.
Some of the oils sound similar. For example, Bergamot and Mandarin both come from the rind of an orange. However, their scent from the essential oil is quite different.
Diffusing the oils
Lavender is the only essential oil that can be used undiluted, as it is so gentle. The others must be diluted with a sweet almond oil, which is usually used as a massage base. Also, the citrus oils have to be used with caution and anyone having these oils applied must not be exposed to strong sunlight immediately afterwards.
It was decided that the oils would be placed on aromatherapy diffusers around the building, so that the ‘scent of the day’ could be gentle released into the air throughout the day.
It was also decided that staff who came into the building would wear the scent of the day adding to the scent which was already being diffused throughout the building.
Colour code
We established a number of rules for using essential oils. For example, they should never be taken internally, should be kept away from the eye area, and should not be placed directly onto the skin, as their properties are so strong. However, if they were diluted with almond oil, the scent would become weak and it would be pointless for a member to staff wear it. Therefore it was decided that along with the scent there would be colour coded pieces of felt - a material which absorbed the oil and didn’t make it greasy yet still retained the scent. Nicky Martin - Education Services Assistant Manager - arranged a colour code for the felt pieces as follows:
Monday BERGAMOT - GREEN
Tuesday MANDARIN - ORANGE
Wednesday LEMON - YELLOW
Thursday SANDALWOOD - BLUE
Friday LIME - PURPLE
Saturday LAVENDER - BROWN
Sunday ROSE - RED
The boxes of felt and bottles of oils were placed in individual sealed boxes and placed in the foyer of the building where all staff enter the building. This ensured that everyone saw the boxes when they started their shift at work. The member of staff would place a spot of oil on the felt and then clasp it onto a keyring which they would wear for the time that they were at work.
As these boxes were such a feature, a painting was hung above the boxes explaining the scent system to any visitors to Andlaw House.
Different ways of using the oils
Since this scent system started, we have introduced different ways of using these essential oils with Maggie Grainger, our session tutor for massage.
1. Massage
For massage, the essential oil must be diluted with a base oil, such as sweet almond oil. There should be six mls of base oil to two to three drops of essential oil.
Massage is very important for multi-sensory impaired people to help them to relax. Whenever a massage sessions takes place, they are massaged with the scent of the day.
2. Aromatic baths
If six drops of essential oil are placed in a bath the nerve endings of the skin will be stimulated and can help soothe and revitalise the body. But care must be taken when a person is getting out of a bath, as the oil can tend to make the surface of the bath slippery.
3. Morning introductions
As a way of introducing our residents to the day, they are presented with a box containing felt with the essential oil of the day on it. In this way we are reinforcing the scent at all times.
Some of our residents find it very hard to comprehend the days of the week and we have discovered that through developing this system, our residents have woken in the morning to smell a certain essential oil and have remembered that on that day, certain activities will take place. For example, on Monday when bergamot is diffused throughout the building we hope they will realise that they will go to the gym and in the afternoon go swimming.
When all the communication needs of a deafblind person are considered you can see that to give someone as much information as possible you have to go beyond the level of speech and signing. You have to draw on all the remaining senses and try to heighten them to a degree which becomes communication.
Of course we still have a few problems - when there is a strong curry cooking in the kitchen, for example, but at least the message is the same - it is now time for dinner!
