Dementia and Music

Activities directors, other healthcare professionals and caregivers, here is an inspiring article
By Jane Dreaper
BBC News health correspondent

The writer and broadcaster, John Suchet, is backing a project which uses music to help people with dementia.

Suchet who revealed earlier this year that his wife Bonnie has the condition, is backing the Music for Life project.

The scheme has been running on a small scale for more than 15 years, but is now going into partnership with the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London.

Each course costs £6,500 to run. The partnership means the work will be able to expand.

I went to one of the project's workshops at Westmead residential home in west London.

It was the culmination of eight weekly sessions.

Three musicians - playing the cello, clarinet and viola - performed one hour's music.

Usually they play in orchestras - but during this interactive session, the audience of eight residents and their carers is expected to work as hard as the musicians.

The point is to use music to build up communication with the dementia patients.

Demanding option

David Hirschman, who plays the viola, said: "It's very demanding. It's certainly not an easy option. But it's also......read the whole article

For a great resource for those with dementia, caregivers and healthcare professinals, click here


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Tap into Music with Meaning

Activities directors, other healthcare professionals and caregivers, read this from: Alzheimer's and Dementia Weekly
Bill Hemmer:

Whether it's the first dance at your wedding or the theme song of your high school years, music can trigger a flood of memories. Now, scientists mapping the brain say the two are linked in an area that is one of the least affected by neuroligcal disease.

So, is the next big breakthrough for Alzheimer's patients sitting on their iPods? Dr. Keith Siller is a neurologist at NYU Medical Center here in New York. Nice to see you, Doc, thanks for coming in.

Dr. Siller: Thank you.

Bill: I guess anyone who has driven in the car and flipped around the dial and found an 'oldies' station can relate to this. The idea of music sort of bringing in a flood of memories. Talk to us how doctors are now using this as they research different treatments and perhaps even a cure for Alzheimer's.

Dr. Siller: Well, I don't know if this is going to lead to a cure, but it is a concept that could be a novel therapy. The fact is, we have to understand that memory has many different components. We don't just learn by reading, we also learn by any sensory input that we get. Could be music, could be the smell of something. This is a very interesting study because it actually shows us what normal memory is like. The fact that we can tap into long-term memory, for example, is very exciting, through a stimulus that we normally didn't think about.

I think we can all relate to this. You smell a perfume or a song or something else that reminds you of something from the past. So it is a very clever technique which, if done properly, might actually help a patient with a memory disorder.
....read the whole article

For a great resource for those with dementia, caregivers and healthcare professinals, click here

For information on being the best caregiver you can be, click here

For more interesting dementia articles and activities, click here

The gift of music for those with Alzheimer's and other dementias

Chonicle Herald
By JOEL JACOBSON Bright Spot
Kate brings joy to people like Wayne, men and women with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias living at The Birches, a Musquodoboit Harbour nursing home. Two days a week, in one-on-one sessions, the Lawrencetown guitar and voice teacher plays memorable music for residents at the nursing home.
Intervention Through Music is a new program at The Birches, piloted for about......read the whole article

Stories like this are ever present because music is a pwerful tool in soothing those with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.