Music Therapy In Dementia Patients: Try An IPod In Support Of Memory Recovery!
I recently read a broadcast on the Wall Street Journal website about the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The post indicated that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that folks who use them are inclined to withdraw from communication with other people and remain in an insulated universe of their own. However, recent monitoring of stroke and dementia sufferers are revealing that iPods and other MP3 players in many instances have the contrary outcome.
By listening to some old often encountered tunes, advanced dementia patients can link back with their memories and with others in some unexpected ways, especially for those with degenerative brain diseases. For instance, as reported by the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod every day prompted a 28-year-old stroke patient to resume walking and make use of his hands again.
In another instance, a 52 year-old man who fell from a fourth-floor building site and suffered a crushed larynx became so beguiled with music that he composed 400 songs and produced four albums. An 85-year-old dementia patient in Florida listens to her favorite opera and Yiddish songs each day on an iPod with a home health aide or her daughter when she visits. According to her daughter they listen for somewhere around one-half hour a day and "It seems to touch something deep within her."
Caregivers have known for many years that music therapy in dementia patients can be very efficacious. They have observed for decades that Alzheimer's patients can remember and sing songs long after they have stopped recalling names and faces. Hospitals and aging care facilities have been using music as amusement for a long time, since it causes patients pleasure. Now, beyond the amusement value, there is meaningful evidence that listening to music can also help stimulate apparently lost memories, and even help recover cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)
As a senior citizen myself I am a big fan of iPods and related devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is basically an iPod with a telephone built into it. I am conscious that many of you will be doubtful because you think such devices are too challenging for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite useful in slowing memory loss due to aging. Now we have discovered that the musical functionality can be helpful even for those who have already begun to suffer cognitive decline.
Well, okay, you might decide not to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing Alzheimer's, but such a device can certainly be used, under supervision, to provide the kinds of music therapy in dementia patients set out in this article. Technology can be amazingly beneficial for those who are willing to be imaginative and wise in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a perfect illustration.
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