MUSIC THERAPY: Empowering People Living with Alzheimers Disease

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MUSIC THERAPYEmpowering People Living with
Alzheimers Disease

• Alison Ledger
• BMus (Mus Thy) (Hons), RMT, ATCL

Cameron Haigh BMus (Mus Thy) (Hons), RMT
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A MUSIC THERAPY GROUP

• Sample structure
• Greeting and Warmup
• - medley of popular songs sung
• Movement
• - structured movement to music
• Body
• - quiz / theme / instrumental play, etc
• Relaxation
• - structured relaxation to music
• Closing song and farewell

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Music Therapy Improvisation, Communication and
Culture (Even Ruud, 1998)
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AFFECTIVE AWARENESS

• ability to reflect on and express emotions

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Audio example
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Audio example
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AGENCY

• achievement,
• competency, mastery
• empowerment

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AGENCY

• Alzheimers patients could learn new material
  when it was presented in the context of a song.
• Prickett and Moore (1991)
• Singing despite impaired verbal communication
  skills.
• (Clair, 2000 Fitzgerald-Cloutier, 1993 Olderog
  Millard Smith, 1989)

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AGENCY

• Continued participation in instrumental playing
  despite other capacities deteriorating.
• (Clair and Bernstein, 1990a 1990b)
• Rhythmic activities may be particularly
  accessible.
• (Ebberts, 1994 Pollack Namazi, 1992)

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Audio example
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AGENCY

• Ive never sung so many old songs
• I know all the old songs
• I made that up!
• were good, arent we?

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BELONGING

• Being with others through music
• being involved
• being included
• deep relationship

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BELONGING
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BELONGING

• Being with others through music
• being involved
• being included
• deep relationship

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MEANING

• sense of wholeness and purpose in life despite a
  subjective state of feeling or suffering

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MEANING

• I like the music because it gives me sense in
  the background, and without that sense it all
  gets lost

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MEANING

• sense of wholeness and purpose in life despite a
  subjective state of feeling or suffering

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MEANING
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MEANING

• sense of wholeness and purpose in life despite a
  subjective state of feeling or suffering

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MEANING

• Thank you for thinking of my husband
• music takes me back to the beach
• music takes you back
• more than activities

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MUSIC THERAPYEmpowering People Living with
Alzheimers Disease

• Alison Ledger
• alison.ledger_at_ul.ie

Cameron Haigh chaigh_rmt_at_australiaonline.net.au
Australian Music Therapy Association www.austmta.o
rg.au