Therapeutic Art program puts life back into Aging

As seniors get older, diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia can set in without a warning. Some doctors have found ways to slow down the process and help seniors affected to ease through the process. They are always looking for new ways to help with the slowing and healing of them both.

This is where art therapy comes in as a life saver. It has many different ways to help with slowing and understanding the different diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

USA Today talks about the benefits in a recent article. They state that “art can awaken responses” and “help unlock glimmers of understanding for patients experiencing memory loss.”

There are a couple different ways that art therapy can be beneficial to Alzheimer’s and dementia such as:

Dance therapies for Dementia – Programs have been created to come into senior homes and rehabilitation centers to get people up and dancing again. A study by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine revealed that the brain gets stimulated through social dance and wards off dementia. It acts in the same that exercising keeps the body fit.

Music therapies help Alzheimer’s patients and memory – When a patient of Alzheimer’s hears a song from their past, something happens in their brain that helps to unlock memories they thought to be lost. The brain associates music with the memory of the time when the patient first heard it. In this, memories come alive. In studies done, patients who were normally mute and unresponsive due to their disease came alive with the sound of music. They would have full conversations and remember who they were.

The therapy of art is so important for the future of people, especially those that have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia. It is imperative to use this therapy to help these patients on the recovery process to getting their memories returned and helping them remember who they are. This is a huge step in helping seniors and those diagnosed as it brings them back and eases the process.

At iCare Home Health our passion is to help families find the right care for their loved one. Would you like to explore further and talk to one of our Home Care Directors, then call us now!