I just now browsed a story on the Wall Street Journal website concerning the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The content stated that one of the criticisms of music playback devices is that people who use them have a tendency to shun communication with other people and remain in an isolated universe of their own. However, recent observations of stroke and Alzheimer's patients are showing that iPods and other MP3 players in many instances have the opposite result.
By listening to some old often encountered tunes, advanced dementia patients can relink with their memories and with each other in some astonishing ways, especially for folks with degenerative brain conditions. As an example, as stated by the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod each day prompted a 28-year-old stroke victim to resume walking and use his hands again.
In another occurrence, a 52 year-old man who fell out of a fourth-floor building site and suffered a crushed larynx became so absorbed with music that he wrote 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 comes to visit. 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 been aware for many years that music therapy in dementia patients can be extremely efficacious. They have observed for decades that dementia sufferers can still remember and sing tunes long after they have stopped recalling names and faces. Hospitals and nursing homes have been using music as enjoyment for a long time, since it causes patients pleasure. Furthermore, beyond the pleasure value, there is significant evidence that listening to music can also help improve apparently lost memories, and even help rebuild cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)
As a old-timer 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 suspicious because you think such devices are too complicated for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite useful in minimizing memory loss due to aging. Now we realize that the musical capabilities can be helpful even for those who have already experienced memory loss.
Well, okay, you might decide not to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing cognitive decline, 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 creative and wise in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a perfect illustration.
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