Challenging Alzheimer's Disease Behaviors : A Study

Dementia is the loss of cognition function. This condition is rapidly becoming a huge challenge as well a leading cause of mortality and morbidity of the 21st century, especially in the western world, and the current prediction rates of dementia indicate that it will worsen. The numbers of the individuals affected by the condition is anticipated to rise due to the ever expanding older population. Despite the menace of this condition, the power of music, particularly in singing to jerk or unlock past memories and kick start the grey matter of the brain is an incredible feature of dementia care. Using music seems to reach parts of the damaged patient’s brain in unique ways that other means cannot (Geretsegger et al. (2014). In senior adults with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other mental disorders, music therapy has shown capability of reducing agitated or aggressive behavior, improve cooperation with day-to-day activities such as bathing, improved mood, and reduce symptoms of dementia. Besides, music therapy can reduce the

In this research paper, the effectiveness of music therapy on the cognitive degenerative disorder of dementia will be evaluated. To support the contention that music therapy is effective in treating the symptoms of dementia, research documenting this therapy’s impact on memory, emotions, and behavior will be examined. In order to provide a greater understanding of music therapy and dementia, these terms will be defined. Second, research will be examined to determine music therapy’s impact on the psychological and behavioral issues associated with dementia. Finally, a summary of music therapy’s benefits and an evaluation of its effectiveness in treating individuals afflicted with dementia will be discussed.

Singing is also broadly used for dementia, which is the second technique. Satoh M et al. prepared ten AD patients to sing their chosen songs for six months by karaoke (10). Karaoke is a way in which patients take turns singing over prerecorded music through a system that reminds them of the song if they stop singing. Results showed time for Japanese Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices reduced and the neuropsychiatric symptoms enhanced after six months with MT (10). In addition, Meilán García JJ et al. related diverse kinds of sensitive music including sad, music without an expressive component, happy, absence of sound, and cafeteria sound as MT distinctly. It was established that melody with sad sentiment was the most effective for the reminiscence

For dementia patients, music from a person’s childhood or young adult years has proven to be effective in obtaining a positive response and involvement (and this happens even when the patient can no longer communicate). Music has been shown to help seniors process their thoughts and recall/maintain

Along with varying music to achieve different beneficial results from Alzheimer’s patients, there are many different activities that can help engage and improve the mental state of patients with Alzheimer’s from the early stages of the disease’s

potentially scare or alarm the patient, making them feel frightened. These reactions have a lot to

Dementia is an extremely common disease among the elderly, with 4 million Americans currently suffering from the Alzheimer’s type alone. Figures show that 3% of people between the ages of 65-74 suffer from the disease, rapidly increasing to 19% for the 75-84 age bracket, and as high as 47% for the over 85s. Therefore, it is easy to see why Dementia is such a large part of many people’s lives, whether they are suffering from the condition themselves, or have an elderly relative who requires full time care just to undertake simple day to day tasks. The disease can be extremely traumatic for the patient and their families, as the person, who may have been extremely lively and bright throughout their

In the book, Surviving Alzheimer’s: Practical tips and soul-saving wisdom for caregivers, the writer, Paula Spencer Scott, gives insightful advice in regards to caring for someone that suffers from the unfortunate neurological disorder, Alzheimer’s. Scott does not hesitate to share multiple ideas, experiences about trying these ideas, and even included professional advice from geriatric specialist

As shown in Henry’s case, music therapy has significant benefits for dementia patients, with regard to both physiological and intellectual perspectives. Following his case, the author goes on to discuss music therapy from general viewpoint. According to the American Music Therapy Association, “Music therapy is the planned and creative use of music to attain and maintain health and well being” (Mattews, 2015). This definition is open ended, which illustrates that music therapy is not only restricted for treating dementia, but also designed for variety range of population, including autism, anxiety disorder, and mental disorder patients. Furthermore, Matthews says that music has four aspects which contributed to music therapy: “communal nature of its delivery, the rhythmic quality of composition, the entrancing effect of music’s mood, and the physiological arousal accompanying listening” (Matthews, 2015). Especially, people with dementia more likely to recall the rhythm, melody of music that they used to listen when younger. Thereupon, the power of music plays meaningful role to health care setting.

This is the playlist I created that I would listen to at ninety years old. After listening to the playlist it changed my mood,took me back through a lot of great times and even made me want to get up and dance. Music is a good source to link memorie and even help someone get through stressful times. Music can also help a person express their personality. This treatment modality is effective for people with dementia because it can be way to recover lost memories from childhood. If the person may have had a bad morning it can change their day. Certain songs may help connect signficiant events in their life. For some people if they enjoyed dancing dancing in the younger days would make them think about their dance moves. Dementia is defined as

Three sophomore students in Kennebunk, Maine, are making a difference for the local elderly citizens through their music therapy organization: Project Playback. Alzheimer's and dementia have negative impacts on the human brain, and are more common in the elderly. Symptoms of each may include: extreme memory loss, difficulty thinking or understanding, delusion, disorientation, and overall mental decline. Jason Albaum (15), Juli Ennis (16), and Colby Ellis (16) have, for 3 years, been helping elderly Alzheimer's and dementia patients to bring back good memories from their earlier life by playing certain songs for them. Their contributions have made a positive impact on many elderly men & women’s lives. Recently, U.S. Cellular (through

This was a great video demonstrating the positive effects of music therapy. I think music therapy is a good method of treatment for patients with Alzheimer's. This allowed Henry to bring a sense of identity to himself. As his daughter mentioned, he used to love music and dancing. The music helped him remember the past and it also produced feelings of love. It was nice to see that he could experience those positive feelings from listing to music from his time. I think music really helps people with dementia. Before Henry was unresponsive and usually kept his head down. However, when he was listened to music his face was full of expression and his body moved to the music. The music helped communicate with others in the nursing home and his cognitive

Technically, anyone can use music to help patients. But as defined by Munro et al. the “term "music therapist" refers to a specially trained individual whose intervention is based on a thorough knowledge of all facets of music (historical, theoretic and practical), the behavioral sciences, treatment and educational models, and accepted therapeutic approaches” (1029). Only professional therapists should be allowed to practice, for the sake of achieving the best outcome. Kimberly Sena Moore, a certified music therapist, critiques the notion of using music therapy because of overstimulation, hearing loss, memory trigger, emotional flooding and anxiety inducing. She points out that she is disturbed by the notion of using it in neonatal care and in patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s. However, she points out that the therapists are careful so there are no real drawbacks. In the case of hearing loss, as long as the sound levels are monitored there should be no issue. The fact that music can result in memory trigger, emotional flooding and anxiety shows the significance of using music therapy

Aside from emotions, music can also have an impact on mental illnesses like ADHD, depression, and dementia. To combat depression, Cadena states that “music therapy alleviates pain and promotes calmness by slowing the heart rate and other bodily functions” (2). It provides the patient with a means of escape from the stressful and painful ordeals of life, and can even encourage them to recover from depression. To help children with ADHD, music therapy and medications can be used conjointly. Music, Cadena affirms, “can provide a calming, sedative affect and assist a child with focusing on the task at hand” (2). In regards to dementia, a study was done to investigate the effects that music would have on people with the disease. The findings demonstrated that “mean agitation levels were significantly lower while listening to music than before listening to the music” (3).