Singing brings joy to Welsh dementia patients
July 1, 2011
The U.S. Alzheimer’s Association reports that there are currently about 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia. This results in approximately one of every eight individuals over the age of 65. Senior medical alert systems can save elderly people who live independently by sending out a medical alert if anything should happen while they are by themselves.
Dementia and depression share many of the same symptoms, which can make it difficult to diagnose depression in people who are suffering from Alzheimer’s. But encouraging these elderly individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s to participate in pleasant activities that they once enjoyed can help to boost their outlook on life, the UK Alzheimer’s Society reports.
In Wales, people who have been diagnosed with dementia teamed up with the Welsh National Opera (WNO) to bring a little bit of music into their lives. The operatic company has been working with 40 dementia patients to perform songs with which the patients are familiar, according to Wales Online. People who have been spending time with these individuals noticed that they had little trouble remembering the words to songs they knew before the dementia began to affect their memory.
