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  • With Mayo Clinic health education outreach coordinator

    Angela Lunde

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  • Alzheimer's blog

  • Aug. 24, 2010

    Creative expression helpful to those with dementia

    By Angela Lunde

24 comments posted

Alzheimer's Caregiving

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"The world is but a canvas to the imagination."
- Henry David Thoreau

Not long ago, the topic of creativity and dementia came up. This is an area of great interest. Each of us is creative in some way; it may be cooking, gardening, dancing, poetry, music, inventing, decorating, fashion, drawing, writing, storytelling, pottery or painting just to name some.

Dr. Gene Cohen, who passed away last year, was the first director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at George Washington University, where he was a professor of health care sciences and psychiatry and behavioral sciences. He was well known and respected for his creativity and aging studies. He said "the inherent capacity for creative expression exists throughout the entire lifecycle." His research has lead to the findings that brain plasticity (the brain's ability to change throughout life and form new connections) is present in older individuals and is thought to promote creativity.

Dr. Bruce Miller of the University of California at San Francisco has been a key person in drawing attention to the creative abilities in some individuals with frontotemporal dementia. He has pioneered research recognizing that degeneration in the left side of the brain may limit language but may actually enhance and release musical or artistic abilities. His work moved him to realize just how much creativity exists in dementia patients.

"Even though our brains age, it doesn't diminish our ability to create," he said.

Over the past decade, more and more research has demonstrated the benefits of the arts for older persons especially those with cognitive decline such as memory loss due to Alzheimer's, as well as other causes of dementia. At a forum held at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in November 2006, leading researchers acknowledged that although more research was needed in the area of creativity, the benefits of creativity for those impacted by dementia were undeniable.

Some of the benefits suggested include: positive emotional responses, reduced agitation, greater social interaction, improved cognitive processes, functional improvements, increased food intake, greater physical strength and balance, improved mood and attention span, reduced stress (caregivers and receivers alike) and improved quality of life.

With a disease like Alzheimer's that limits verbal expression and communication, creativity is way to fill that void. When words fail, a work of art or music, or the movement of a dance can tell a story, express an emotion, recreate a memory and serve as a vehicle of expression.

I've witnessed firsthand the facial expressions of persons with dementia engaged in a creative activity. Their joy, laughter, pride, sense of peace and calm are universal states of expressing fulfillment. It seems clear that art and creativity can be an emotional release when other means of self expression are lost or misunderstood.

In a yoga class I teach for persons with mild cognitive impairment, I see creative expression through movement. Students follow both verbal and visual cues and are supported in knowing that their pose, movement and flow is exactly the way it is suppose to be.

This form of creative expression can foster a sense of calm, self esteem and acceptance. And as long as we (caregivers, family and friends) play a role in getting a person with dementia started in a creative process, we've tapped into their retained abilities to express.

"To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak."
- Indian Proverb

24 comments posted

blog index

  • January 6, 2012 9:00 p.m.

    My Mom has some vascular dementia is 82 and has speaking ability but constantly forgets what day it is, repeats the same question numerous times. She was a career woman in an office as well she loved to cook and sew, she doesn't do any of that now, although one day I went over to her place and thought I would bring the 4 buttons I needed to sew on my sweater. When she asked me what I was doing, I said I needed to sew these buttons on. I guess because she used to do all that she said "here let me do that for you - I can do that" I said "if you'd like" She did a great job and she didn't forget how to sew buttons. As well she likes to sing and dance and look at (family pictures - one of her favorite pass times) it's a good idea to think about what they used to do and how to implement it into something creative. Canada

    - Christine

  • February 10, 2011 1:44 p.m.

    WHAT A LOVELY ARTICLE. THE PROVERB ON DANCING IS SO TRUE. IT IS GOOD TO CARE ABOUT OTHERS AND HOW THEY DANCE TO LIFE TOO.

    - PATRICIA

  • November 18, 2010 4:32 p.m.

    Try fuzzy posters. Your loved one can choose their own colors and stay in the line and sign and date and give as gifts. You can get fuzzy folders, bookmarks, etc. Also if the dementia is not too advanced, try having your loved one write down their thoughts. You need to be with them to help prompt and encourage. Also give them a bland piece of paper, have some glitter stone stickers, give them crayons and you do the same and just draw lines dots write words whatever and dont' rush and you will be amazed at the results. This takes time and caregivers are so busy caregiving that there is no time to be the activity director. My sister is the caregive and when I visit I sit and create with mom or have her sing or dance with her. Don't try to do it all. Get help and support from friends and family or an adult center. It is a devastating disease because of the custodial care and the challenges that come with the personality changes and behaviors and when the caregiving is over we have to remember ot contribute in some way to eradicating this disease.

    - stella

  • October 25, 2010 9:56 p.m.

    I would like to share a personal story related to music and dementia that touches my heart. My Father has been diagnosed with dementia, and I have provided care to him for the last two years as he is alone. He has musical abilities, and primarily plays the accordian. He has lost his ability to communicate with others, but, the one thing that has remained in tact, is his ability to play his accordian. He has the biggest smile on his face every time he plays, you can just see the joy it brings back to him. I have read a great deal of his disease over the last several years, and have learned that musical abilities is of the last to go for patients like my Dad. Getting someone you know and love involved in music, whether it's playing or listening can really help to improve their quality of life.

    - Lisa

  • October 10, 2010 12:50 p.m.

    I hope to be able to try use of music and art though have a situation with an elderly person in their late 80's who has extreme social phobia -long term, not just related to the MCI which is the current diagnosis so how do you get someone like that to a class? Also has extreme hearing loss (doesn't want to wear an aid) arthritis in hand (used to sew and crochet and craft prolifically), could be a fall risk too if dance or yoga is involved. Looking for more ideas for this combination of challenges. Has any particular medication made someone with this set of issues more receptive to engaging in activities?

    - Karen

  • September 30, 2010 9:15 p.m.

    My husband does puzzles Charles Wysocki,s EZ GRASP (300)

    - Florence

  • September 30, 2010 3:02 p.m.

    Any one have any ideas of how to help stop verbal repettivness? Even if it is very quiet my Grandmother will start repeating word/words over and over again some times getting louder and louder. She is in ladder stages of AD. We realy don't want any more medications. I have tryed books and pictures, to no avail. Any ideas will help.

    - Pamela

  • September 28, 2010 2:46 p.m.

    My mother is 95 and has advanced Alzheimer's. She enjoys magazines with pictures of people (such as People or Us). She tears out the pictures and saves them, revisiting each one repreatedly and having conversations with them which helps her language skills, which are declining. She also likes manipulating her Duplo Legos (thirty-three of them in a plastic box). She doesn't really build anything but she does put them together.

    - JoAnn

  • September 8, 2010 10:10 a.m.

    I work with a chapter of the Alzheimer Society Peel (in Canada) and we are constantly amazed by the learning and creativity of individuals in moderate to severe stages of dementia. We do alot of creative programs. We have an active bell choir which is made up of individuals who had no instrumental experience and are now part of a performing choir. We also created a program called Memories to Music where individuals in early to moderate stages partner with high school music students to compose a song that shares stories of their life and personhood. The impact of these compositions on the individuals, families and students has been so amazing and inspiring.

    - Jodi

  • September 4, 2010 3:16 p.m.

    My family lost our matriarch , my grandmother just 2.5 years ago . And now Iam fearful that my own mother may be having symptoms too. Does anyone know if this is hereditary ? I am in the search mode now , for me and my children .

    - Tina

  • September 4, 2010 2:14 p.m.

    My son who has frontotemporal dementia is 62 and unable to verbally communicate as he cannot find the words. One day at suppertime I put on a Scott Joplin record which is happy music. He got up smiling and started to dance. I joined in with him and it was a beautiful time.

    - Mother

  • August 29, 2010 7:05 p.m.

    Lam glad that I found this site, we just found out that my husband is in early on set of alzheimer's. It helps me to gather information on what we need to do. My husband is 56 and Iam 51. It is alot to take in when you first here the news.He has had memory loss already and get frustrated that he forgets easy task that he use to do all the time. But we will make the best of what time we have.

    - Mary

  • August 28, 2010 2:25 p.m.

    So glad to see so many discovering that the creative, music part of brain does not seem affected by AD. For 5 yrs I've used this learning in facilitating retreats/prayer experiences for persons with middle-late AD. We engage persons in music, art, movement, other sensory experiences as a way of praying from the heart. It is always a profound experience to witness them come alive! Dancing can be as simple for someone in a wheelchair as moving their arms/hands with them to the music. May I suggest for the bricklayer that you visit some of his work where he can actually touch it, run his hand across it....

    - Rose Ange

  • August 27, 2010 12:03 p.m.

    Gigi, my husband (71) used to be an avid reader, did all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, yardwork, sang in the church choir, and was heavily involved in a Guatemala church mission and now he can do none of that. and his communication is very limited. What I thought of was to collect beads and buttons for him to string (it was even a bit of a challenge for him) and then I would attach it to a piece of bamboo to make a hanging. As long as he remains interested, we could keep making more and adding it to the hanging. It becomes something of a piece of art he can feel a sense of accomplishment. Finding things to keep him busy seems like such a challenge. Maybe this is something that will work for you. I also emailed all my friends in search for buttons and beads. Good luck!

    - Mary

  • August 26, 2010 4:56 p.m.

    My husband just turned 89 years old and used to be a bricklayer. He worked with a contractor and put the brickwork on many homes in our city and surrounding areas. When we'd ride past the houses he'd worked on, he'd tell me stories of who he worked with on that job and who bought the house, etc. He had pride in what he did and always did such neat work . It was obvious from a distance. The homeowner often chose bricks in a mix of 3-4 colors and he would lay them them out very carefully to avoid having blotches of one color ior another n a certain area. And the rows of brick were so straight with the same amount of mud between each row and between each brick. It was a work of art. He was also a great handyman and could fix most anything. Now he has severe macular degeneration so he can't see do any tasks that require closeup work. He can see with his peripheral vision about 15 feet or so ahead. He is losing his memory and I can't jog it by taking him around to see his former handiwork. He loves music and I play that a lot. He used to love politics and talk shows on the radio or TV but while he hears the voices, he doesn't always comprehend what they are saying. Any suggestions?

    - Marilyn

  • August 26, 2010 4:29 p.m.

    At the "independent facility" my mom with moderate dementia (loss of words to describe needs etc), she has become involved in making blankets for newborns at the hospital. The coordinator measures, cuts and pins two pieces of fabric together and residents tie the knots all around to hold fabric together. They feel a sense of pride, accomplishment and community involvement. Mom has even gotten us involved in providing her with pre-pared blankets for her to tie knots while watching TV or waiting for her next activity.

    - Sherry

  • August 26, 2010 4:15 p.m.

    Gigi, here is a possible creative activity: buy some plain sugar cookies, some frosting and some candies like M&Ms, and decorate them with her. Cupcakes would be good too. It's creative and, if all else fails, she can just eat the candy. Hope it works. I haven't tried it with my mother yet but I plan to.

    - Patricia

  • August 26, 2010 3:40 p.m.

    My husband has had Alzheimer's for ten years. His activity is limited but when he hears music, we must dance! So when we go to weddings or get-to-gathers we dance! We always get a standing ovation - because our friends and family know his limitations. Does he smile! We have even danced on the sidewalk when we heard music. I hope to dance with him for many more years!

    - Norma

  • August 26, 2010 1:23 p.m.

    Thanks so much for this inspiring article! I have been trying to research some new avenues for my mom's "memory care neighborhood", although I am not qualified or creative enough. Have watched programs with seniors experiencing yoga for the first time and they appear to enjoy it. Can loved ones with AD who are still very mobile, express themselves with yoga too? Also, I know that painting and in addition, that music always seems to help. Who does one contact to perhaps encouage some new avenues of creativity for Mom and her fellow neighbors? Not all yoga teachers may be interested in working with folks with AD? I will also try to get some information on the poetry project. Thanks so much for this newsletter!

    - colleen

  • August 26, 2010 1:18 p.m.

    My mom used to be very creative before her dementia - painting, sewing her own patterns, knitting, and crocheting, etc. but she has lost all those abilities. We tried getting her interested in less complicated creative projects (paint by numbers, clay) with no luck. Can anyone recommend a very simple project that she might be able to handle? She has lost almost all language abilities.

    - Gigi

  • August 26, 2010 11:06 a.m.

    Creativity in Dementia/Alzheimer's is an exciting and quickly developing field. In addition to Gary's excellent work in poetry, there are several dance companies, songwriting and other approaches. My own work with storytelling is also well researched for its impact (www.timeslips.org). I profile several different programs on creative engagement in dementia care in Forget Memory: Creating better lives for people with dementia (Johns Hopkins, 2009). www.forgetmemory.org is the blog.

    - Anne

  • August 25, 2010 2:52 p.m.

    does this show up?

    - John

  • August 24, 2010 9:51 p.m.

    I'm quite familiar with the Alzheimer's Poetry Project. It's magical! Our groups focus more on fine arts, however we do occasionally write poetry and often have sing-alongs. The primary purpose of our sessions is the pure enjoyment of the process. Sometimes we’re blessed with some amazing results as well. In my opinion the long-term care community needs to rethink how we run our so-called "life-enrichment" programs. The typical activity program divides the day into neat one-hour blocks. Creativity doesn't work within time constraints. I find this system far too limiting. People need the time and space to explore their media to the point where they "own" them.

    - Jytte Lokvig, Ph.D.

  • August 24, 2010 10:12 a.m.

    Dear Ms. Lunde, Thanks so much for posting this information on Alzheimer's and creativity. Perhaps your readers would be interested to know of the work we do with the Alzheimer's Poetry Project. More info at www.alzpoetry.com Sincerely, Gary Glazner Executive Director, Alzheimer's Poetry Project

    - Gary

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