Reaching dementia patients with verse

[Raviepoo]

I am learning something from a conversation with my sister Margaret. First of all, people with Alzheimer's retain songs, prayer and poetry longer than speech because those things are accessed via different neural pathways. (Margaret didn't teach me that.) That's why you sometimes hear a person who hasn't spoken an intelligible sentence in years sing along with Frank Sinatra and not miss a syllable. It's also why a non-verbal patient may bust out the Lord's Prayer for no discernable reason.

Margaret asked me for suggestions of songs, nursery rhymes and poetry that our mother knew back in the day. She read parts of the Song of Hiawatha to mom and mom recited along with her. Mom also sings along with Frankie without missing a beat.

Ok, now I'm getting to the point, finally. What I learned is that family members know the best way to reach a person with Alzheimer's. They just need a little help pulling it out. Generic music from the 1940s did a really good job engaging my resident's when I worked in LTC. Getting specific suggestions for familiar song's prayers and poetry works even better for individuals.

Seems simple, doesn't it? I have always HATED hearing contemporary music played in an Alzheimer's unit. The sound track of an Alzheimer's unit should serve the patient's quality of life. If the staff wants to listen to thier preferred music they should do it at home.