Music...especially a person’s favorite music from their youth...is POWERFUL medicine when working with patients with Alzheimer's Disease or other forms of Dementia. Sometime back, after watching the documentary, "Alive Inside", related to the below YouTube video, I started incorporating music into my physical therapy treatments. I use a little Bluetooth speaker connected to my phone and Pandora or YouTube, to pull up a patient’s favorite music from when they were younger. And every single time, like magic, that person just comes alive. I’ve had the privilege of dancing and jamming to music from James Brown to Willie Nelson. From Aretha Franklin to the Gaithers. From the Andrew Sisters to Elvis Presley. Put on some music. You just might witness a miracle. There is an amazing organization, Music and Memory, the same group featured in "Alive Inside". They bring personalized music to the elderly or infirmed through donated iPods.
Chris Schoolfield, PT, DPT, GCS
HouseCalls Physiotherapy
Jonesboro, Arkansas