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| My mother, Evelyn Gustafson Eggebroten, age 88 |
Music can help people connect to their memory when they have been unable to recognize family members or to remember who or where they are.
My mother discovered this when she volunteered at a nursing home in the 1970s in Boulder, Colorado. She made audiotapes of favorite songs and took a boom box on her visits to work with patients. Having been a public health nurse and professor of nursing at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, she continued to use her gifts in retirement.
Twenty years later, when she herself was suffering from Alzheimer's, I played for her CDs and VHS tapes of music from the Lawrence Welk Show and from church. The music cheered her and connected her to old memories.
Has Alzheimer's or another form of dementia made it difficult for you to communicate with your mother, father, or other family member?
Listen to a presentation on Music Heals Minds founded by Nandani Sinha in 2019 to help stimulate cognitive function and brain activity in seniors and others facing Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and traumatic brain injury.
Nandani is a mezzo-soprano at Westwood Presbyterian Church, the church I used to attend before the Covid-19 pandemic began. She performs regularly with the LA Opera, other southern California opera companies, and the LA Philharmonic. Westwood Pres is a few blocks from UCLA and has had a long history of connection to the music department of the university.
Nandani's father suffered from vascular dementia in his last twenty years, and she learned that she was able to reach him through music.
On Jan. 15, Music Heals Minds officially launched a world-wide ministry using an online Zoom platform.
The CDC lists Alzheimer's disease and other dementias as the sixth leading cause of cause of death and disease among persons 65 years and older.
"Alzheimer's robs people of their place in time," explains Nandani. "Through music, they are able to find their place in time again."
Professional musicians lead the therapy sessions and use therapeutic techniques such as mirroring, eye contact, and prompting both verbally and with gestures to engage the participants. Gradually they encourage memory-care persons to join in the singing, clapping, dancing, and conversation.
Music Heals Minds is based in Pasadena, California, and has served communities in southern California for two years prior to launching this more widely accessible platform.
If you know someone who needs this help, visit the Facebook page of Music Heals Minds or follow MHM on Instagram. You can also contact Music Heals Minds through Twitter @healsminds.
