The jumbled memories of faces and places long forgotten seem to
grow clearer with each brush stroke on canvas.
For people suffering with Alzheimer's disease, exposure to art
can unlock the mind.
A new nonprofit group is working to trigger the memories of
Alzheimer's patients in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and elsewhere
with art. Organizers of "Art Without Boundaries" use volunteers to
bring a form of art and physical therapy to seniors suffering with
memory loss.
The therapy, called MnemeTherapy, combines song, movement, art
and positive reinforcement to stimulate the brain, even damaged
areas.
"We get both sides of the brain synchronized," said Noell
Hammer, Florida-based founder of the therapy, who has tested it on
thousands of patients. "The other side of the brain can pick up the
slack ... We have seen some dramatic changes."
Patients who have tried the therapy, Hammer said, have mood
changes and temporarily regain some of the language they had lost,
or recognize family again for a time.
Some doctors say that art exposure can temporarily reverse the
anxiety, aggression, agitation and apathy found in some Alzheimer's
patients. "This is a very dark disease. There is no remission; it's
just downhill," Hammer said.
Tia Severino, an amateur painter, is organizer of the Georgia
group of Art Without Boundaries program and is working with her
daughter, Kate Johnson, a high school senior, to launch the
endeavor. Both are believers that art can be an important source of
therapy for seniors.
Art Without Boundaries, a foundation launched in South Florida
about seven years ago, has apprentice groups in 10 states working
on campaigns to help seniors suffering from memory loss. The
therapy has been used on patients in nursing homes, private care
facilities and senior centers. The patients learn to dance and
paint with the help of a therapist.
"The act of creating, the movement involved, the brush stroke,
the colors, the communication that is going on between the
therapist and the patient has meaning to them," Severino said. "A
picture from their past comes to life right before their eyes."
(Shanghai Daily January 10, 2008)
