"Dementia friendly"--what does that mean?
On YouTube I found a video of a well-known Christian hymn that says it is dementia friendly.
Listen to: Jesus Calls Us, O'er the Tumult
It's produced by a ministry called Spiritual Eldercare. Their mission is "Ministering to older adults with Alzheimer's and other dementias."
They define "dementia friendly" as
"Sing-along hymns specially arranged for elders with Alzheimer's and other dementias (shorter, slower, and in a lower key)."
Two things are beautiful about this ministry:
1) that some Christians value those who are warehoused in "memory care" wards and consider their spiritual needs.
2) that they have found ways to modify hymns and to reach them.
Music is one way to reach people whose minds are failing. I know this from my years of accompanying my mother through her Alzheimer's.
When you slow the music down and make the lyrics shorter and more understandable, you are throwing a life preserver out to a person who could sink under the water.
2 comments:
Your years of accompanying your mother through her Alzheimer's, and the way a slowed-down hymn can throw a life preserver to a person whose mind is failing, moved me deeply. I'm Alex Qi, CEO of Silvie by Pontosense. We're building a calm, privacy-first sensing system so families can feel more at ease about a parent living independently, and we're inviting Founding Families to join us in shaping it: https://silvie.com/founding-families/application
Anne, I love the phrase "throwing a life preserver out to a person who could sink under the water." That is exactly what good support for people with dementia should do, meet them where they are instead of asking them to adjust.
I build sensing technology for people living on their own, and I have learned the same lesson you describe with music. Slower, simpler, familiar. The things that work best for someone whose memory is failing are the ones that ask nothing new of them. When support fits into what is already there, whether a hymn in a lower key or a routine left undisturbed, people stay calmer and more themselves.
Thank you for writing about the spiritual needs too. Those get overlooked far too often.
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