April 30, 2020
Sometimes the person with dementia relives a traumatic experience from the past as though it were happening in real-time. That experience might have been buried under a lifetime of an inability to face it. Unfortunately, the damage to the brain caused by dementia can sometimes bring these unresolved issues to the surface and bleed into the present. During one of my picture communication sessions in a nursing
April 27, 2020
The benefits of art during dementia are many. Whether the person with dementia was an artist or not makes no difference. It is a way for them to express themselves and it can diminish depression and anxiety and increase their wanting to interact socially. True Story: He was a famous artist amongst the elite; you could tell by his art’s price tags. He was known as an
April 26, 2020
During dementia, time becomes distorted or lost. Even the difference between day and night can become unclear. The sense of linear time is confused, and past and present can intermingle. I think about time a lot; maybe because at my age its passing so fast. But then Einstein said time is relevant to the one perceiving it. “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute,
April 24, 2020
“Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you.” Carl Jung During dementia progression it becomes increasingly difficult to express oneself. It starts with words being lost and forgetting how to finish a sentence. The person feels stupid when they attempt to talk and begin to shut down and communicate less. Often, they
April 21, 2020
When a person with dementia no longer recognizes their reflection in a mirror, they often become fearful thinking there’s a stranger in the house. I never thought I would live to the ripe old age of seventy-one and yet, here I am and still feeling young on the inside. Older people with dementia are no different. They aren’t aware of aging and perceive themselves as being younger.
April 17, 2020
What began as simply creating an art activity in a facility for residents with dementia turned into the direction the rest of my life has taken. When I realized and how dementia eventually isolated them in their own skin when it became difficult for them to express themselves to others, I knew I had to do something more than art. I needed to find a way to
April 15, 2020
In my book, Journey through the Infinite Mind, I wrote about when the person with dementia loses memory, they can’t plan future. Future planning can be as simple as trying to make a ham sandwich. Let’s look at what it entails to make that sandwich. To begin with, I need to recall what is a sandwich, what goes in it in and where those ingredients are in
