Music & Memory
Seniors
There’s new hope for anyone with a formal diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or Dementia. The Music & Memory Program is grounded in extensive neuroscience and is based on how our brains respond to music. It has been tested and proven in hundreds of long-term care facilities throughout Canada and the United States. The Music & Memory personalised music system has provided therapeutic benefits for thousands of individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease or Dementia.
Music is, of course, a popular recreational activity in many elder care facilities; with good reason. Residents love performances and sing-alongs. Music uplifts the spirit. However, group-based music programs, while meaningful, are time-bound and designed for broad appeal. Selections are age-appropriate, but not necessarily personal.
Alzheimer’s damages the ability to recall facts and details; it does not destroy these lasting connections between a song and memory of an important life event, no matter how long ago.
When individuals suffering from dementia are played a song connected with a powerful memory, many people who have not spoken in years find the words and lyrics. They often regain the ability to converse and connect those around them.
By contrast, research shows that personalized music playlists, delivered using iPods, have the capacity to transform life for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease or Dementia. Musical memory is profoundly linked to emotions. These memories are stored deep in the brain.
Through generous funding from the Nanton Legion, the Music & Memory program launched May 1, 2015! The program is available to participants. Participants will be provided at no cost, an iPod Shuffle system filled with their personalized and music.
To see the program in action, we would like you to meet Henry, who suffered from dementia for a decade and barely said a word to anyone—until the Music & Memory Program was brought to him.