Personalising Legacy Work Through Learning Styles

When it comes to dementia care and legacy preservation, one size doesn’t fit all. Every person processes and expresses information differently. Some are verbal storytellers, others are visual or hands-on learners. Understanding someone’s preferred learning style can make legacy work more accessible, enjoyable, and emotionally rewarding.

As Advance Care Planning Australia highlights, tailoring communication and engagement strategies is essential for dignity-centred dementia support.

By matching legacy-building activities to an individual’s strengths, families can help preserve stories and values before cognitive decline makes expression more difficult.

What Are Learning Styles?

There are four primary learning styles:

1. Visual – Learns best through images, diagrams, and spatial understanding
2. Auditory – Responds to spoken word, music, and sound
3. Kinaesthetic – Learns through doing, touching, and physical activity
4. Verbal – Prefers reading, writing, and word-based storytelling

Each of these styles can be integrated into early-stage legacy activities to ensure the person feels engaged and empowered.

Tools like Evaheld support all four styles by allowing content to be recorded in video, audio, image, or written formats and stored securely in the Evaheld Legacy Vault.

Adapting Activities to Match Learning Styles

Visual Learners

• Use photographs, timelines, and collages
• Create visual storyboards with captions
• Explore family trees with colour-coded generations
• Design memory maps to illustrate life journeys

Resources like Family Legacy Series offer printable worksheets and templates for visual storytelling.

Auditory Learners

• Record oral histories and life reflections
• Play meaningful music to trigger stories
• Conduct interviews using smartphone recorders
• Use voice memos on Evaheld to capture legacy messages

Online Will Blog highlights how auditory reflections have become treasured family keepsakes, especially in multicultural households.

Kinaesthetic Learners

• Use object-based storytelling: hold a trophy, heirloom, or recipe book to trigger memory
• Engage in joint cooking, gardening, or crafting sessions
• Create a scrapbook through hands-on cutting and arranging
• Record these experiences using video on Evaheld Legacy Vault

Sensory-rich activity boosts engagement and supports emotional expression, according to Dementia Support Australia.

Verbal Learners

• Write legacy letters
• Create poetry or short stories
• Complete written memory prompts
• Build a ‘life book’ filled with captions, journal entries, and milestones

Advance Health Directive documents can also include statements written in the person’s own words for future reference.

Why Matching Learning Style Matters

When you use the learning style that feels most natural to someone:

• You reduce frustration and increase confidence
• Sessions feel more enjoyable and authentic
• You support longer-term engagement with legacy creation
• The individual feels truly heard and understood

As Dementia Australia explains, using personalised approaches strengthens emotional wellbeing and promotes dignity.

Carers and Learning Style Observation

Carers often notice patterns in how a person responds to activities:

• Do they light up when hearing a familiar song?
• Do they engage more with photos or hands-on tasks?
• Are they more verbal when walking or moving?

Resources from Nurse Info can help carers identify these styles and choose the best legacy formats.

Once identified, carers can help record content using Evaheld or encourage creative sessions at specific times of day.

Combining Learning Styles in Legacy Creation

You don’t need to choose just one style. Combining methods makes legacy sessions more dynamic.

For example:

• Start by listening to a favourite song (auditory)
• Add a story to a scrapbook (visual/kinaesthetic)
• Write a short reflection about what the song means (verbal)
• Record a message summarising the memory (auditory/verbal)

The Evaheld blog shares inspiring examples of families combining activities to unlock stories and deepen connection.

Involving the Sandwich Generation and Young Family Members

Children and teens can easily adapt to different learning styles. Include them by:

• Asking them to draw pictures or interview their grandparents
• Reading legacy stories together
• Creating short films about family history
• Helping scan documents or upload content to Evaheld Legacy Vault

Multigenerational participation boosts legacy quality and makes sessions more joyful and communal.

Preserving Spiritual and Cultural Wisdom

Some learning styles naturally support spiritual storytelling:

• Auditory: recording blessings, hymns, or prayers
• Visual: documenting ritual objects and sacred spaces
• Kinaesthetic: recreating traditional crafts or movements
• Verbal: writing reflections or scripture in their own hand

Culturally sensitive legacy work strengthens identity and can be shared at future milestones.

Advance Care Planning Australia encourages recording such preferences early.

Making Legacy Content Accessible Later

As dementia progresses, learning styles can shift. It’s helpful to:

• Keep content in multiple formats (audio, visual, text)
• Use reminders or prompts to revisit past entries
• Simplify content (e.g., replace full text with bolded key phrases or voice summaries)

Family Legacy Series recommends building a content archive that supports revisiting, reflection, and rediscovery—even as communication ability changes.

Practical Tips for Getting Started

1. Ask how they best express themselves
2. Trial different methods—photo prompts, writing, voice recording
3. Build short, 10–15 minute sessions
4. Celebrate every contribution
5. Back up content on Evaheld or a secure physical drive
6. Share small pieces with family early for encouragement and emotional validation

Final Thoughts

When we tailor legacy work to how someone learns, we open a door to expression, empowerment, and lasting impact. It’s not about perfect grammar or polished videos—it’s about making sure the message is shared in a way that feels natural, easy, and joyful.

Understanding learning styles is a gift—to the storyteller, their carers, and future generations.