Travel Agent Takes a Virtual Train Ride

Hummingbird activity specialist writes about an armchair travel session with Sarah, a former travel agent, and adventurer.

Sarah, who no longer speaks because of advanced dementia, is alert and enjoys visual stimulation and listening to music. “I began with singing You Are My Sunshine, a song we used to sing together. In our mini-travelogue we looked at photos in the AAA magazine as I talked about the trees in California, whales, and Yosemite. Imagining traveling by train, I played an audio clip of a steam train to accompany a photo of a train moving up the coast. Thinking that she could read, I paused on a page with large print titles, turning the page only when she looked away. Sarah looked at me and the magazine with interest. Then, she began to close her eyes, so, I thanked her for our visit and wished her a good afternoon. Our session supported Sarah’s vocational well-being by tapping into her interest in traveling and her background as a travel agent.”