I recently checked out a writeup on the Wall Street Journal website concerning the use of music therapy in dementia patients. The writing indicated that one of the criticisms of iPods is that people who use them are apt to shun relationships with other folks and stay in an isolated universe of their own. However, recent study of stroke and dementia sufferers are disclosing that iPods and other MP3 devices oftentimes have the reverse impact.
By listening to some old often encountered tunes, advanced Alzheimer's patients can reconnect with their memories and with others in some unexpected ways, especially for those with degenerative brain diseases. For example, as reported in the Journal, listening to rap and reggae on a borrowed iPod each day prompted a 28-year-old stroke patient to learn to walk and use his hands again.
In another case, a 52 year-old man who fell from a fourth-floor construction site and suffered a crushed larynx became so fascinated with music that he composed 400 songs and produced four albums. An 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient in Florida listens to her beloved opera and Yiddish songs every day on an iPod with a home health aide or her daughter when she drops by. 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 profoundly effective. They have observed for decades that Alzheimer's sufferers can remember and sing songs for an extended time after they have stopped recognizing names and faces. Hospitals and aging care facilities have been using music as recreation for a long time, because it brings patients pleasure. Now, beyond the delight value, there is significant evidence that listening to music can also help improve apparently lost memories, and even help reconstruct cognitive function in some cases. (via IPod Therapy for Alzheimer's Patients, WSJ.com)
As a golden-ager myself I am a big supporter of iPods and equivalent devices for senior citizens. I myself have an iPhone, which is basically an iPod with a phone built into it. I am cognizant that many of you will be dubious because you think such devices are too confusing for seniors. However, as research as shown, using complicated devices can be quite efficacious in minimizing memory loss due to aging. Now we discover that the musical functionality can be helpful even for those who have already begun to experience cognitive decline.
Well, okay, you might decide not to actually leave an iPod in the hands of a person who is experiencing dementia, 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 farsighted in applying its use. IPod music therapy in dementia patients is a great illustration.