Celebrate Judy Garland's birthday with those who have dementia

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire


Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care  professionals to get an easyceu or two

Follow alzheimersideas on twitter

The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Judy Garland info

more about Judy Garland

Barbara Jacobs suggests this formula for success
A two-part music session.

In the first part, provide a positive musical experience by beginning with a warm-up activity through reminiscing. I begin by playing CDs of favorite recording artists such as Judy Garland and Nat King Cole. When in a group setting, such as one led by an Activity Director or other care professional in a care facility, have a brief discussion of the artist’s background. (Most CD covers will give you a short biography and it is easy to find such information on the Internet). This will usually generate discussion and get people in the mood to sing.

The second part of the class consists of an old fashioned sing-along

I feel you can hand out song sheets. Sometimes I find them to be a hiderance because some dementia folks cannot follow them. Most residents(clients) know most of the words to a song anyway

Next time some good sing a long videos

Dementia Sufferers may Be Helped by Music Therapy

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information
Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

MedInda.com

Australian researchers have revealed in a new study that dementia sufferers may be helped by music therapy.

Dr Felicity Baker, a senior lecturer from the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Music, is looking to conduct a study of 100 volunteer couples who will allow music therapists to visit their homes and show how to use music to increase communications.


"Thousands of people care for partners with dementia and take on a lot of burden, which means they are more prone to anxiety and depression," Dr Baker said. "The idea of my project is ... to tap into the memories of people with dementia as a way of sharing positive experiences and trying to maintain some level of satisfaction with the relationship."

They theorize that people whose memories are failing may be able to recall certain things if they hear a song from their youth.

Yjank you for Dementia Sufferers may Be Helped by Music Therapy

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

Activities directors, other healthcare professionals and caregivers, a colleague od mine, Sharon K. Brothers, MSW, talks about music and dementia

A music therapist at the facility, Alicia Clair, was searching for ways to help couples like Elsie and Tom connect. Ms. Clair asked Elsie if she'd like to try dancing with Tom, then put on some music from the '40s - Frank Sinatra singing "Time after Time." Ms. Clair said recently, "I knew Tom was a World War II vet, and vets did a lot of ballroom dancing."

As Sinatra began singing, Elsie opened her arms, beckoning. Tom stared a moment, then walked over and began leading her in the foxtrot. "They danced for thirty minutes!" Ms. Clair said. When they were finished, Elsie broke down and sobbed. "I haven't been held by my husband in three years," she told Ms. Clair. "Thank you for bringing him back."

It's a lovely story, and it illustrates the power of music in the lives of the person with memory loss.

I remember the first time I heard one of our caregivers explain how she got a client to bathe. This client resisted everyone's effort to help him bathe, and could quickly become angry and aggressive if pushed. We'd all tried every approach we knew, and then Wanda stepped up.

An hour later, the client was bathed, relaxed and smiling. We had to know: how did she do it?

Here's what she said.....read the whole post

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

More About Making Music to Deal with Dementia

Medindia.com

Australian researchers have revealed in a new study that dementia sufferers may be helped by music therapy.

They theorize that people whose memories are failing may be able to recall certain things if they hear a song from their youth.

Dr Felicity Baker, a senior lecturer from the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Music, is looking to conduct a study of 100 volunteer couples who will allow music therapists to visit their homes and show how to use music to increase communications.

"Thousands of people care for partners with dementia and take on a lot of burden, which means they are more prone...read the whole article

Making music to deal with dementia

UQ NEWS online

Dr Felicity Baker, from UQ's School of Music, is investigating how music therapy might improve partner satisfaction by providing opportunities for the sharing of memories associated with certain songs.

The project will involve having a music therapist go into the home and show the spouse how they can use music as a way of creating meaningful experiences with their partner with Alzheimer's or another dementia.

People with dementia have difficulty with short term memory and lose the ability to communicate verbally. However, research shows that they really respond to music because it taps into automatic memory

When they listen to a piece of music that they have used in their past, it can stimulate the recall of those memories, which then helps them to talk about those memories which then helps with interaction.
.....read the whole story