Category Archives: Dementia Live

Compassionate Touch®, Dementia Live, Senior Care Professionals

The Transformative Power of Music in Ageing Care

2 Comments

By Sue Silcox, AGE-u-cate® Training Institute, Australia

Does anyone remember the banning of public music in Iran? Back in 1979 Ayatollah Rubollah Khomeini banned all music from radio and television in Iran. He likened it to opium and said it “stupefies persons listening to it and makes their brain inactive and frivolous.” (New York Times, 1979).

I remember it happening and being horrified by the ban. Every culture has music and it has always been such a blessing for me. From the first music I heard my parents play, the first record I ever bought (Cathy’s Clown, The Everly Brothers) to using Spotify now when I take Ageless Grace® classes locally, I am thankful for what it brings me.

How amazing that a study in 2001 from Leicester University, UK, found that babies recognise the music they heard in the womb even twelve months later. In this study, mothers played a single piece of music repeatedly during the third trimester. A year after birth, the infants recognised and turned towards that sound, preferring it to a similar sounding piece of music, even though they had not heard the music in the interim. Music certainly has power!

I’m one of the first baby boomers so I’ve had the pleasure of listening and moving through music styles such as pop, rock and roll, country music and jive, twist just for a start. I also have the remembrance of swing and big band as my parents would dance together or get us to dance with them. Many a tune brings a memory of the old HMV turntable my aunt had. She would play her favourite artist, in particular Nat King Cole and I wonder how many of my preferences have been influenced by those early sounds.

For me, to be without music as I age would be like living in the dark ages. Although I like to move my body to contemporary music I also find myself emotionally transported as I listen to music I love. A 2017 study found that physical exercise done to music showed greater increase in cognitive function than just exercise alone, and may be of benefit in delaying age-related cognitive decline. It also makes changes to the brain structure. My love and use of music and exercise seems to be validated! Music should be also be considered a drug therapy, providing benefits linked to reward, motivation and pleasure. (Howland, R. H, 2016).

In Australia the Arts Health Institute brought a music and memory program to aged care, now overtaken by the music enrichment program, “Music Remembers Me” in aged care. Perhaps we also need to encourage movement during the music enrichment program.

Whether music is enjoyed on its own or shared, it can be an intensely special time for the listener. Now it seems the joy of the music can provide considerable benefit to our ageing and dementia communities.

Sue Silcox leads AGE-u-cate® Training Institute, Australia and is a Certified Master Trainer for Dementia Live®, Compassionate Touch®, and other AGE-u-cate programs.  She lives in Brisbane, Queensland.   She may be contacted at sue.silcox@ageucate.com

References:

Kifner, J. 1979. Khomeini Bans Broadcast Music, Saying It Corrupts Iranian Youth. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/24/archives/khomeini-bans-broadcast-music-saying-it-corrupts-iranian-youth.html

BBC News, July 2011. Babies remember womb music. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1432495.stm

Ken-ichi et al. (2017). Physical Exercise with Music Reduces Gray and White Matter Loss in the Frontal Cortex of Elderly People: The Mihama-Kiho Scan Project. Frontiers In Aging Neuroscience, Vol 9 (2017), doi:10.3389/fnagi.2017.00174/full

Howland, R. H. (2016). Hey Mister Tambourine Man, Play a Drug for Me. Journal Of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services, 54(12), 23-27. doi:10.3928/02793695-20161208-05

 

 

Dementia Live, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

Communication Skills Training Improves Dementia Care

Leave a comment

Caring for people with dementia requires specialized communication skills training.  Unfortunately, healthcare professionals and family caregivers often receive little training to enable them to meet the communicative needs of people with dementia.

Research has shown that communication skills training in dementia care significantly improves the quality of life and well being of people with dementia and increases positive interactions in various care settings. Communication skills training shows significant impact on professional and family caregivers’ communication skills, competencies, and knowledge.

As we look at the look at the vast growth taking place across the spectrum of those serving older adults,  in addition to the health and long-term care fields.  Communication skills training is being implemented by EMS professionals, Social Work, Case Management, Chaplains and Volunteer workers and to the broader community of those serving older adults in a wide variety of capacities.  Financial advisors, insurance personnel, retail, and banking are all seeing a rising need for communication skills training to better serve their older adult customer base that often is living with dementia or other cognitive impairments.

Key qualities for those directly serving the elderly and aging populations are

1. communication skills

2. compassion

3. physical stamina.

With the growing demand for in-home care services, home health aides and certified nursing assistants (CNAs),  communications skills training is more important than ever so they are well prepared to care for the high percentage of people living with dementia.  These are high demand professions and one of the fastest growing occupations projected.  Already, in many areas of the US and around the world, shortages and the consequences of these staffing challenges are affecting the quality of care.

Quality communication skills training, starting with awareness and empathy training will better prepare our health care teams, retailers,  legal and financial advisors, faith communities and first responders to face the already ballooning numbers of aging adults who deserve better care and certainly more respect here and around the globe.

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate® Training Institute and a passionate advocate for older adults and those who serve them.  Pam is the creator of the internationally recognized Dementia Live® awareness and simulation training program.  

http://www.AGEucate.com

 

Dementia Live, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

‘Samen Dementievriendelijk’ teaches people to recognize and help people with dementia

Leave a comment

I thought this intriguing blog post title would spark some interest, as I’m writing this while on a European trip that will be concluding in Amsterdam.  Samen Dementievriendelijk is the Netherland’s Dementia Delta Plan, which aims to create dementia-friendly communities by teaching people to recognize and help people living with dementia.

‘Samen dementievriendelijk’, inspired by earlier foreign dementia projects, is an initiative that will help their society to learn more about dementia and the ways one can help people with dementia and their carers. Within this program not only the public is trained to become a ‘dementiafriend’ by registering on a special website. They will be invited to do an online course where they learn to identify common dementia-related behaviors and their causes, and how to respond to them. But also a brought range of companies are addressed to become dementia friendly in their products and services. Nationwide companies like supermarkets, bus and taxi companies, banks, insurers but also local retailers and many municipalities participate in this program.

The cooperative Deltaplan for Dementia is the Dutch national platform to address and manage the growing problem of dementia. Together with their member organizations in the field of science, research, healthcare institutions, patient organization, healthcare insurance, education and business, they aim for better lives for people with dementia and their families and to create a barrier against the effects of dementia.

Deriving its name from the Dutch waterworks that protects a large area of land from the sea, Deltaplan dementia works closely together with private and public members based on three important pillars; research, healthcare/support, and a dementia-friendly society.

Next,  their national strategy Deltaplan Dementia aims to focus on international collaboration. They strongly believe in international collaboration to tackle this worldwide challenge and growing problem.

Deltaplan Dementia:

  • is an eight-year program which began in 2013
  • includes dementia research and innovation programs and  currently has over hundred different research projects
  • aims to focus on Improvement of Health Care to ensure that patients of today can continue to live at home as long as possible, supported by appropriate professional and informal care
  • also aims to stimulate a society that is more dementia friendly

Like Dementia Friendly America, initiatives like these are spreading throughout the world, giving tremendous hope for widespread quality of life improvements in those living with dementia and those who care for them.

I’m going to work really hard at the proper pronunciation of Samen dementievriendelijk’, and look forward to sharing more about what Europe is doing in this arena.

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate Training Insitute and a passionate advocate for older adults and those who serve them.  She is the creator of the internationally recognized Dementia Live® Simulation Program,  transforming how people understand and respond to persons living with cognitive impairments.  You may read more about this program at http://www.AGEucate.com

https://deltaplandementie.nl/en

Dementia Live, Faith Community, Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, The Family Caregiver

The Important Role that Money plays in Caregiving Decisions

Leave a comment

It’s no secret that families tend to shy away from the topics of money and death more often than not.  The fact, however, is that caregiving decisions often revolve around money, as care options will vary greatly depending on one’s assets.  So money plays a very important role in the choices that are made and discussions that take place between family members.

Understanding generational differences with respect to money can help today’s caregivers.  Like my own parents who were raised during the Depression,  money for our oldest generation was to be saved.  Before the era of mass production of goods, this generation did not waste, valued “things” in terms of their quality and how long they would last.   Older generations did not accumulate debt but rather watched their nest egg grow through hard work and perseverance.  One of their goals is the ability to leave an inheritance for their children.   In turn, adult children have expected this nest egg, rightfully or not.  And this is when conflict arises when families are faced with decisions on parent’s long-term care.

Too often, parents are reluctant to talk with their children about their financial situation.  My advice was always to give their children the gift of talking about it BEFORE  needs arose for decisions to be made that may conflict with theirs.  So plan A is always for families to approach this difficult topic earlier than later.

Try to start the conversation with a what-if scenario.  “Mom, we want to make sure that decisions regarding care are ones that you had envisioned.   We never know what to expect, but what if you fell and broke your hip and this required you to have ongoing care.  Can we talk about what this might entail and what you would want as next steps?”

Or another conversation starter might look like this:  “Dad, you have always been such a wonderful provider and keep such great care of your finances;  I know everything is fine now, but what if something happened to you?  Can we talk about how you would like help with paying bills?”

Children and other family members need to be respectful of the money issue, understanding that when one gives up oversight of their finances, even if it’s perceived as such, it’s a huge step in losing independence.  Tread these waters gently, approach with a sincere heart and understand that an initial response from others may be to pull back.  If that’s the case, then give it time, and reapproach maybe at a different time and with another family member present.

Put yourselves in the place of that person before approaching, and ask how you would like to hear the words of the person talking about the difficult money topic.

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate Training Institute and a passionate advocate for older adults and those who serve them.  

http://www.AGEucate.com