Dementia Can Open the Door to Artistic Expression
The treatment of people with dementia has changed dramatically since I first became personally involved with the disease. It’s now widely recognized that while cognitive abilities change with dementia, there is still an individual residing in this damaged body.
Those in the arts, especially, have seen that concentrating on what people can do, rather than what they can’t do, is vital for the quality of life. As this attitude spreads, we’re seeing that people with dementia often show talents that we never knew existed.
My dad’s brain was irreparably damaged by a failed brain surgery that sent him into instant dementia. At the time, reorientation was the accepted way to help people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.
Reorientation is a method of forcing the person to come back into the “real” world. Because I was a newcomer in dementia care, I didn’t know about the so-called “correct” method of reorientation. I did what came naturally for me and joined Dad in his altered world. That world included music and other creative aspects of life, as well as validating real and perceived experiences in the educational and scientific areas that interested him.
Fortunately, the practice of reorientation has died out, and validation therapy has become recognized as the most humane and productive way to manage dementia.
Validation therapy often includes encouraging artistic adventures. Slowly, what art and music therapists have known all along is being recognized: people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias still have talents. They still have dreams. Frequently, these latent talents come to the surface after other areas of their brains have become too diseased to function correctly.
Organizations and foundations are now focusing on the arts as therapy
Art, music and theater help promote human dignity and improve the quality of life. Having witnessed the success of small programs using this type of therapy, dedicated people have set up organizations and foundations to promote this approach to Alzheimer’s care more widely.
Lester E. Potts, Jr., a rural Alabama saw miller, became an acclaimed watercolor artist after his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, despite the fact that he had never previously shown any artistic talent. As he participated in the expressive arts programs at Caring Days, a…
Helpful Tools:
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