You all know should know by now that I love music (much to my children’s chagrin as I operatically sweep the house) so I can’t help but pass along this report on the effectiveness of natural healing Alzheimer treatment with music therapy. We have a very good friend who recently put his wife in long term care with Alzheimer’s disease because he was getting too old to care for her (he is in his 80’s) and so we have taken our kids often to visit her…and sing. Now I know why she and all the other patients are smiling when we leave.
Natural Healing Alzheimer Treatment With Music Therapy
Natural healing Alzheimer treatment with music therapy is literally "music to our ears"
As a teenager, Brian Parker saw the isolation of Alzheimer’s disease firsthand when he visited his grandpa in a Longview, Wash., nursing home.
“I’d come in and see him basically strapped to his bed,” Parker says. “They just didn’t know back then how to deal with people with Alzheimer’s.”
Parker got a degree in music education, taught high school band, then worked in commercial fishing and long-haul trucking. Today, at 48, he’s a licensed practical nurse, working with his older brother, Mark, to break through dementia with some age-old tools: hand drums from around the globe, shakers, maracas, bells and tambourines.
The brain’s musical pathways, it turns out, remain intact longer, even after speech and short-term memory fade. Research increasingly backs up that insight, and long-term care centers are increasingly employing it.
[…]
Some don’t respond. But toward the end of the 45-minute session, almost all are participating. A man who had trouble saying his name easily taps out rhythms on Brazilian bells. A woman, expressionless at the start, smiles as she gently shakes a maraca in time.
[..]
Their musical therapy efforts dovetail with brain and field research, including studies that indicate reduced agitation and improvements in mood, cognitive function and memory for Alzheimer’s patients exposed to music. It can boost social interaction for patients with a disease that fosters emotional isolation.
These guys aren’t the only ones seeing amazing results using natural healing Alzheimer treatment With Music Therapy. This same article talks about the successes of Chehalem Center in Newberg.
The Chehalem center is among those run by Prestige Care of Vancouver, which is increasing its use of music therapy. Helen Peterson, the center’s activity director, regularly plays guitar and sings with her residents. Some who leave after 5 minutes of a non-music activity will stick around as long as the music’s playing, she says. “I’ve had residents who are nonverbal, but they can sing every single word of their favorite hymn.”
I’m thrilled about the implications here not just for Alzheimers and dementia. As I was reading about this I was reminded of my good friend and neighbor who had a severe stroke that left him speechless about 3 years ago. When we would bring our kids to their house to visit and sing, I also noticed that he could sing every word. And then afterward he still couldn’t talk. Now I know why and think there has to be some good evidence of effectiveness for stroke victims (i’ll be on the look out). I already posted on the effectiveness of music therapy for brain injuries and Congresswoman Giffords’ experiences.
Are there resources for families to help them utilize this powerful tool? If you know of some, let us know in the comments below.
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Video of Music Therapy for Alzheimer Treatment
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75nIIciQM0o[/youtube]
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