Musings of a Dance/Movement Therapist

Dance Movement Therapy Is in the Air

What does dance movement therapy for healthy aging look like? This lovely article by dance movement therapist Wendy Elliott will give you a picture ~ Moving Our Spirits: Healthy Aging Through Dance-Movement Therapy, Group class gives senior women an outlet for expression, interaction and connection.

"Dance-movement therapy creates a container for elders to experience pleasure, joy, depth and play through the body. It is in this very ancient form of human interaction that we come to reconnect with ourselves and others."

and

"Sometimes grief is in the air. How could it not be? Given the full lives each of these women has gone through, moments of sadness, longing and loss are likely to come up. When this happens we respond by reaching out, holding hands and supporting one another, creating a space to verbalize this loss and to look around and know that connection and care are available."

Dance/Movement Therapy is provided by graduate level trained therapists who have learned, and continue to learn, to see and hear their clients ~ not just their words, but what they are saying through their bodies and their movement. The therapist uses her body and movement, what we call kinesthetic empathy, to receive the clients' messages. We relate on a body to body, heart to heart, mind to mind, and spirit to spirit level.

Is There An Evidence-Base For Embodied Training? The article, "The Science of Embodiment: Is There An Evidence-Base For Embodied Training?" seems to think so.

"In the British National Health Service Professor Helen Payne has done work showing how dance movement therapy (DMT) – a form of embodied practice – can help alleviate MUS. It’s my sense that dance movement and body psychotherapy are now establishing the validity of their work as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has done."

Yesterday I was blessed to have the opportunity to learn from veteran dance movement therapist Susan Kleinman about DMT with people with Eating Disorders. She made it look easy, but let me tell you, it is not. She was masterful. She didn't dig for depth; she let stuff surface. I learned many lessons in the 2.5 hours that she led us, and on many levels - personally, professionally, as a teacher, a workshop leader.

Tomorrow I'm off to the New England American Dance Therapy Association conference in Keene NH. I am excited that some of my former students and supervisees will be leading workshops, sharing some of their hard won knowledge. I know that I will learn much.

I guess this is what is meant by an embarrassment of riches. I'm happy to share them. Interested in becoming a dance/movement therapist? The world needs you. Find out more at www.adta.org.

Yoga Therapist Interviewed about Yoga with Older Adults

Steffi Shapiro has been teaching yoga since 1970. In this interview on Newton TV with Sheila Vernick, Steffi shared some of the testimonials she's gotten from some of the older adults whom she's taught. Some of the abilities which improved were being a better driver because they could turn their heads better or reaching a shelf they couldn't reach before.

Of course the physical benefits are only a small part of the benefits - including heart, mind and spirit. Steffi teaches in a lot of Senior Centers in the Boston area, Assisted Livings, etc.

Steffi's style is very gentle - asking people to listen to their bodies and to do no more than they are comfortable doing. She leads the viewer into very simple easy chair yoga - warm-ups. I have benefitted from Steffi's teaching and her compassionate way myself. She is very humble, but she is one amazingly strong woman. I only wish that she would have demonstrated the strength and balance that SHE has. I think she holds herself back so as not to intimidate people, but I'm afraid then people don't see how strong one can get even though not being competitive, even with oneself.

As Steffi says, this is not just physical exercise, but a way of being that we can we bring into our daily life - gentle, compassionate and  amazingly strong.

Dance Therapy Demonstrates the Mind-Body Connection in Alzheimer's

Deerfield-based North Shore Dance Therapy delivers ‘amazing’ results according to a January 8, 2013 article in the Deerfield Review, IL.

“'There is so much research that shows creative arts having a positive impact on people with dementia,' said Hornthal.... 'It taps into areas of the brain that are not directly affected by the dementia.... the music and the movement together enhances the patient’s ability to communicate,' she said. 'It enhances the mood and the ability to engage more with the community.'”

Chauncey Whitaker said of the dance therapy with Hornthal, “The therapy has a direct impact on my mother’s level of involvement and expression.”

I am taking note of the music his mother enjoys moving to, James Brown’s “Living in America,”and “I Am Woman”. Older adults are getting younger all the time! No longer are the songs of the 20's and 30's so popular in my groups. I like Brown's "Get up offa that Thing" myself.

My certification project for Laban Movement Analysis is creating a Dance/Movement Therapy Assessment Tool to assess the quality of life for people with mid to late stage dementia, folks who cannot verbally communicate their needs. Hopefully, I will finish writing within the next few days.

And, it is building on that mind-body connection in Dance Movement Therapy and to improve the quality of life for people with advanced dementia that I will be training caregivers and dance movement therapists in The Dance of Interaction: Embodied Relationships in Dementia Care with colleague Meg Chang at CIIS.

Kamahria Hopkins, participant in a previous training at Kinections and dance movement therapy student, said in working with her clients with advanced dementia the training helped her to be "mindful of always being on their level, approaching them from the front and using lots of touch and other nonverbal cues in my facial affect and body positioning. I also make it a point to greet each person individually by name, shaking their hand and using eye contact."

Valerie Perdue, another participant in training and practicing psychotherapist, offered that she learned the importance "of initiating change in quality of life by focusing on the carers" in addition to the target population." "I have helped my clients who have loved ones with dementia be more emotionally connected to their family members because of the training." She also said, "The group dynamic in the class with you was particularly supportive and gentle."

The Healing Power of Dance for Older Adults

Thanks to dance movement therapist Danielle Arana for alerting me to this Jan. 7, 2013 article from Youville Assited Living, Notes from Youville: Body Language, The Healing Power of Dance.

I like this quote, 'Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world' -- Voltaire

and "all dance forms link movement and music, physical and cognitive faculties, creating a unique and memorable mind-body experience. Dance has the potential to connect people, to heal and empower–– and it’s certainly not just a fleeting luxury for the young."

I would like to add that Dance/Movement Therapy is not just mind-body.DMT integrates mind, body, heart and spirit. Find out more.

The Octaband Builds Connection around the World in 2012

2012 has been an exciting year for the Octaband and for Dance for Connection, the new business I began. Many sales to enthusiastic therapists and teachers around the country and the world to places such as: Texarkana (seems exotic to me), Alaska, Singapore, Germany, Japan, India, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Africa, Australia, Finland, UK and Canada. One dance movement therapist in the UK will be bringing her Octaband Christmas gift to Ghana.

Diversional therapist Takako found the Octaband in Australia and brought it back to Japan with her, where she has been using it, bringing joy to residents and staff. I've posted some photos here and you can see more on Octaband's FB page.

Recently, she used the Octaband with a snowy winter theme with lots of white balloons and small pieces of white paper. Takako reports that even residents who don't usually participate engaged with great joy. I look forward to doing the same with a group in a couple of weeks; have already set the playlist.

Amit Janco used the Octaband at a children's festival in Indonesia to the delight of many. Dance movement therapist Elizabeth Rutten-Ng used the Octaband in a dance group with families of young children in Singapore. Effie Marcantel, Program Coordinator for the Alzheimer's Services in Baton Rouge distributed the Octaband as part of a "Recollection Collection" kit to 40 dementia facilities in the area, and wrote excitedly to say that the Octaband was the favorite part of the sensory kit for most recipients and their residents.

Additional highlights for the Octaband: Dance movement therapist Pattee Russell Curry shared how she uses the Octaband with orthopedically handicapped adolescents and young adults at a Summer Youth Arts program in Merced, CA. Look for an article about Pattee's work here in the next few weeks.

Jean Basiner working for the Andrea Rizzo Foundation with children with cancer at St Joe's Hospital: "We all love your Octaband. This wonderful healing tool has so many miles on it, Donna!"

Sandra Sneiderman using the Octaband with young adults with a range of developmental disabilities had this to say: "I use [the Octaband] for my weekly group, religiously; they absolutely love it. What a great invention!" You can read more about her description of how she uses it.

A new use for the Octaband was provided by dance/movement therapy student Kamahria Hopkins who shared that she had a very powerful experience not long ago with a family, bedside with "their loved one who was actively dying. The Octaband really helped facilitate a sense of connection and dynamic movement, which opened them up to express more difficult emotions about the impending loss of their loved one."

Happy Times Activities tells me, "There is one lady every week that asks me if I have my rainbow sun with me today."

Octaband LLC donated an Octaband to Psicoballet in Cuba thanks to dance movement therapist Christina Devereaux. It was a huge hit, as you can see in the Youtube video here.

Back Pocket Dancers used the Octaband in a performance piece at Dance for World Community, Cambridge, MA. You can see photos of this on Octaband's Facebook page.

The Octaband was exhibited at the American Dance Therapy Association conference in Albuquerque; ARTZ & Dementia Conference in Boston, MA; Texas Culture Change Coalition in San Marcos, TX; Autism Conference in Dedham, MA; Dance for World Community, Cambridge, MA; Pioneer Network Conference, Jacksonville, FL. I'm sure there were more.

Meanwhile, Dance for Connection has also been busy, providing dance groups and dance movement therapy to older adults and people with dementia throughout eastern Massachusetts and even as far away as San Francisco. We offered workshops to Bring Dance to People with Dementia and presented at many of the above conferences and trained at local Assisted Living residences. I was quoted in the Boston Globe in the article Is art therapy the answer for dementia and in the Spring 2012 Preserving Your Memory Magazine. March 9 and 10, 2013 we are gearing up to lead a workshop at CIIS in SF, The Dance of Interaction: Embodied Relationships in Dementia Care.

To make sure that I remain connected to the Dance, my Muse, I dance with Back Pocket Dancers, an intergenerational dance company based in Cambridge, MA. We've had several wonderfully received performances this past year as well and look forward to a busy year ahead.

Octaband LLC and Dance for Connection wish our friends around the world a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year. Subscribe to this blog, find Octaband on Twitter, on Facebook, and me, Donna Newman-Bluestein on LinkedIn. Comment on the blog, communicate with us. Being in connection is good for our health in body, heart, mind and soul.

The Arts and Dance Therapy: Prescription for Dementia and Alzheimer's

In her November 27 article, Is art therapy the answer for dementia? Making music, painting, or dancing — and seeing or hearing it — may be the most effective treatment for dementia to date, Karen Weintraub has really gotten a sense of the effectiveness of the arts in dementia care. I had some additional thoughts on re-reading the article.

The article begins with "Carla shook a tambourine, while Dorothy played the xylophone and Leni tapped her palms gently on an African drum. Vivian declined an instrument, but shimmied her shoulders when the music moved her." With the exception of Dorothy playing, the other verbs used to describe what the folks were doing are all verbs describing movement - shook, tapped, and shimmied. Often staff and family members who see me work, think that I am a music therapist, because they see me using music to stimulate movement. What they don't realize is that in addition to using music, a dance movement therapist brings movement observation, exposure to multiple dance forms, and dance/movement therapy skills to expand upon the movement that people are already doing. In other words, I might try to get Carla to shake in other ways, make the movement larger, smaller, up high or down low so as to involve more of her body, thus increasing the amount of liveliness and investment in what she is doing.

What I, and Sally Harrison, are doing are not classes, but rather groups, and specifically therapy groups. I say this because people frequently are unaware that a group is something other than a collection of individuals sitting in the same general area, perhaps focused on the same thing at the same time. We are using our knowledge and understanding of group dynamics to build upon the participants' sense of group, which ultimately will result in greater or lesser feelings of safety, their connection to one another, and increased level of self-expression.

I love John Zeisel's statement,

"It’s a human rights issue that everybody needs to be able to have a life”.

I wish there would be a huge pause here and recognition of this fact. People should not be warehoused. I am ashamed to say that people with dementia are still being warehoused. I was in a facility the other day and witnessed older adults sitting with their heads drooped onto their chests, left to their own devices. To my mind, this is reprehensible. What ever happened to the commandment, "Honor thy father and thy mother"? These older adults are ALL OF OUR FATHERS AND OUR MOTHERS.

"Even people who were not artistic or music lovers in their youth can be inspired by the sound of a song they heard on their first date, or by a painting that evokes an emotion, the speakers said."

This reminds me of Mrs. D., a woman with whom I worked for several months, who said one day, "I was overweight all of my life. I would never have considered dancing. Look at me now. I'm 93 and just beginning to dance."

“We don’t lose the ability to express joy,” added her colleague, Dee Brenner, Artz program coordinator."

That is for sure. I see that every time I run a group. Stop for a moment and look people in the eye with love. You will see joy in response.

“When you are cared for, you lose your sense of who you are,” he said. “Everybody with dementia has a lot going for them. They can experience, they can be present, and they can develop.”

One of my underlying tenets is that it's essential to acknowledge our mutual interdependence for our health and well-being (and that of our society).  I like to give the residents with whom I work the opportunity to give and to see themselves as contributors. I may ask them to brush some dirt off of me, or thank them for brushing my hair out of my eyes. To rub the hand lotion into my hands, just as I do to their hands. For our health and well-being, for balance, as caregivers, we need to give and to RECEIVE. That takes the willingness to be vulnerable, which takes tremendous strength and courage in the mainstream American culture.

 “Whether it be fine arts, music, listening to music, going to museums. All those things do not have an impact on the disease per se. What they do most likely is they get through to the person with Alzheimer’s by exploiting the areas of the brain which are least impaired,” said [Robert Stern, professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University], also the director of BU’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center’s Clinical Core. “Anything that can touch the patient through that network of brain [areas] can have a profound impact.”

My understanding of neuroscience and the brain is very primitive. At the same time, I can extrapolate  from my understanding that in coronary artery disease, it sometimes happens that where there is arterial blockage, the body may spontaneously generate new arteries. I believe that exercise may have helped to create those new pathways. I believe this is one miracle that is the body's self-healing. Similarly, I believe that given certain circumstances, neurogenesis occurs

In her workshop and abstract, Gene Expression and Neuroplasticity: Implications for Dance/Movement Therapy and Alzheimer’s Disease presented at the American Dance Therapy Association’s 2010 Conference, Lora Wilson Mau offered:

"Research ... supports that certain types of physical, sensory and social experiences can maintain brain plasticity and increase neurogenesis. Building on the anecdotal and clinical literature that supports the use of dance/movement therapy with individuals with dementia, this workshop [Gene Expression and Neuroplasticity: Implications for Dance/Movement Therapy and Alzheimer’s Disease] introduces Ernest Rossi’s concept of “psychosocial genomics” and integrates the language of neuroscience to more concretely explain what can happen on a molecular level during a DMT session and why that may be particularly significant in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (Wilson-Mau, 2010)."

In the Boston Globe article, Weintraub also shares a story from Alan O'Hare:

He described one nursing home resident he had largely ignored because she spent most of the day doing nothing but moving her eyes diagonally up and down. He decided to ask her about it. “I’m dancing all day,” she told him. Hearing that “changed my whole relationship with her,” O’Hare said.

In O'Hare's workshop, he told that story. As he showed us this person's movement, which was minute, it was easy to understand why she was mostly ignored. O'Hare finally asked this woman what she was doing, to which she responded, “I’m dancing all day” and then, "and when I get tired, I rest". It seemed as though all she was moving was her neck, head and eyes. The "rest of the story" is that O'Hare then used her "dancing all day" as the theme for a project that a group of residents and O'Hare worked on and, I believe, ultimately performed.

This is the beauty of using the arts with people with dementia and Alzheimer's ~ to see, hear, feel their responses and to make much of them. This is quietly beautiful and powerful work. I am grateful to call this my life work.

 

Dance Movement Therapy with People with Dementia with Holiday Theme

As the winter holidays approach, I want to share some of the music that I use in my dance movement therapy groups which will encourage not just singing along, but also enlivening through movement and dance for people with significant dementia.

If I want to use a short playlist, these are my must play for a holiday theme:

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree    2:06    Brenda Lee           
Snow    2:45    Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby & Rosemary Clooney           
A Marshmallow World    2:40    Dean Martin   
Jingle Bells    2:11    Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians           
Feliz Navidad    3:02    José Feliciano    Feliz Navidad       
Ocho Kandelikas    2:17    Pink Martini             
Auld Lang Syne    1:50    Mitch Miller    Holiday Sing Along With Mitch

I am very particular about the version I use, because some orchestrations are more likely than others to evoke the finger and toe tapping upon which I can then expand upon.

If I want a longer program about the holiday, these are additional songs that I will use:

Christmas Song    3:12    Nat King Cole               
Winter Wonderland    2:11    Aretha Franklin   
Blue Christmas    2:07    Elvis Presley   
Sleigh Ride    2:58    Johnny Mathis
It's Beginning to Be a Lot like Christmas    2:22    Dionne Warwick            
Santa Baby    3:24    Eartha Kitt
Have Yourself a Very Merry Xmas        2:38    Judy Garland   
Let It Snow    2:04    Bing Crosby   
Winter Wonderland    2:24    Bing Crosby   
Frosty the Snowman    2:13    Bing Crosby   
I Wish You a Merry Christmas    1:53    Bing Crosby   
White Christmas    3:04    Ella Fitzgerald
My Favorite Things    3:19    Tony Bennett                   
All I Want for Christmas    2:32    Nat King Cole                   
Jingle Bells    2:24    Dean Martin                   
Winter Wonderland    1:56    Peggy Lee                   
Baby It's Cold Outside    2:51    J Mercer & Margaret Whiting       
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm    3:14    Mills Brothers           

There was another Guy Lombardo song that I used to use that he would play on New Years Eve rather than Jingle Bells, but I must have had it on tape and can't remember what it was. I also found a hip hop version of a Chanukah song that my residents used to love, surprisingly, but I can't seem to find that.

Some props that I use include - holiday-colored bows, which have adhesive backs. As I put one on each person, I ask them why (or they ask me) I am putting the bows on them. The idea, of course, is that each one of us is a gift, with our unique contributions, whether they be our thoughts, our movements, our voices, our smiles, or expression of genuine feelings.

I use holiday garlands, silver colored and/or green and red. I usually buy holiday-themed props at iParty just after a holiday so that I can get them on sale. I string the garlands through people's hands so that we can be the holiday decoration. Of course, I simply follow their lead, suggesting that we move as they are already moving by the time I get back to my seat. I will either give each person jingle-type bells to play or loop them over the legs of an Octaband for us to shake along with several versions of jingle bells. I will likely have some red and green crepe streamers stapled together to extend the movement of their arms and hands.

I think that's it for the holiday themed props. Although, as I think about it, I wish I had some antlers. That would probably stimulate some giggling and singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

My wish for you for this holiday season is that you bring great love, joy and compassion to the people with dementia and Alzheimer's in your life.

 

The Encore Career Handbook - Help Navigating the River of Change

On January 1, The Encore Career Handbook, "a comprehensive, nuts-and-bolts guide to finding passion, purpose and a paycheck in the second half of life", and written by Marci Alboher comes out. (That was not a great sentence.) There is a special offer for anyone who preorders the book throughout December; they are offering an exclusive online advice session with Marci in early January for those who preorder and send their receipts to encore@workman.com by January 1, 2013.

Some of the reviews:

“If enough of us find our encores, we’ll become a small army for change: We’ll transform the world and ourselves.” – Jane Pauley, host of AARP’s Your Life Calling on NBC’s Today show

“A treasure trove for anyone hitting midlife and wondering what’s next. Engaging, practical. … This book will inspire you to think big and take action!” – Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

“Marci Alboher has written a fast-paced and hugely helpful guide on how to bow in to your encore career. It’s full of stories and advice for those who want to raise the curtain on the next act of life. For this she deserves a standing ovation!”– Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author

I'm very much looking forward to reading it. I enjoyed Marci's interview and am looking forward to seeing how my story of mid-life change is part of the river of change which is happening right now.

The Rewards of Being a Dance Movement Therapist with People with Dementia

I was quoted in Karen Weintraub's Boston Globe article yesterday, Is art therapy the answer for dementia?: Making music, painting, or dancing — and seeing or hearing it — may be the most effective treatment for dementia to date. Grateful to say, I actually like and agree with the quotes.

Dance therapist Donna Newman-Bluestein said one vehicle for a life worth living is dance. As long as people have bodies, they are capable of — and should be given an opportunity for — moving and dancing, she told the attendees at last month’s conference.

People with dementia often lack the initiative to begin movement on their own, so they sit, immobile for hours, Newman-Bluestein said. “If someone else gets them going, they can engage, and they can move a lot more.”

The medical model of treating Alzheimer’s is to focus on what someone isn’t doing and try to fix it, she said. The arts model looks at what they are doing and tries to build on that ability.

“I see joy when they’re moving. I see them transformed by their movement,” she said.

This past week I have led 2 groups with people with significant cognitive impairment. In the first group, I chose music that was less "raucous" because I was thinking about one particular resident who did not join in the previous time and looked somewhat distressed during the group. I wondered if I used less unfamiliar Caribbean music this time, more "low key" but still upbeat music if she would be less distressed. As a result, I not only used different music, but paid more attention to her. I slowed down each time I approached her, making direct eye contact. By the end of the group, she was nodding her head yes or shaking her head no in response to my questions of her from across the circle. A faint smile played on her face. For some people, that might be no big deal. For me, it was reason to celebrate.

In yesterday's group at another facility, I was distressed to see how much decline there was in a group of residents I hadn't seen for 2 months, but with whom I've been working for the past 6 years. They sometimes put Mrs. Y into bed after lunch because she gets very tired. I was so glad to see her yesterday, but wasn't at all sure that I would be able to reach her. She looked as though she might not remember me this time. Her head was down, and she didn't seem motivated to lift up her head. Many times during the group, I approached her directly, making sustained eye contact, letting her know that I indeed did believe that she "must have been a beautiful baby". Finally she smiled. Sat with her head upright, watched the goings-on. Beamed, hugged a balloon. An hour is too much for her. After about 50 minutes, she nodded off to sleep. I think her awake time was worth it for her. It certainly was for the staff who witnessed and for me.

These are some of the rewards for being a dance movement therapist with people with dementia.

 

Waiting for the Next Peak Experience

Just back from the Texas Culture Change Coalition which was informative and exciting, my presentation Enhancing Quality of Life through the Dance of Interaction well received. Most inspiring was the presentation by psychologist Dr. Richard Taylor, who has been living with the diagnosis of dementia, probably of the Alzheimer's type, for the past 10 years. In his his words, Richard "dedicates his remaining consciousness toward breaking down the stigmas of dementia". His speech was fiery, powerful in his charge to diminish the stigma of dementia with many examples of the ways that even we, caregivers who truly care, continue to unwittingly foster the stigma. I highly recommend Dr. Taylor as a highly articulate and cogent speaker, transmitting his message through humor and authenticity. As he said, "It's hard to stumble when you're talking from your heart because the words just pour right out." Some additional quotations from his presentation:

"Culture Change begins in your heart... You're here to enable, not disable me."

A stragegy for people with dementia ~ "MSU" or Make Stuff Up.

According to Taylor, imagining what it feels like to be a person with dementia through strategies such as  glasses being smeared with Vaseline, earplugs to muffle sound, binding one arm to your body, etc. is simply pretending, not empathizing.

"You're pretending by empathizing with a different processor. It can't start with the brain. It has to start in your heart, go through your feelings and up to to the brain."

The end result is, people with dementia "get a lot of pity and not much empathy."

In the presentation that I led and the nonverbal communication trainings that I lead, I do not have people imagine what it feels like to be a person with dementia. I ask participants to experience their own feelings when they experience a mismatch in pacing or are ignored. I ask them to feel their own discomfort with intimacy during experientials. Why do I want people to feel uncomfortable? So that they feel the feelings they are discharging through chatter or giggling. There's nothing wrong with those; it's simply that if we do not experience our feelings, we have no opportunity to reflect and change them and they will be perceived by and affect highly emotionally sensitive people with dementia.

Taylor also spoke of the vast financial resources that are being spent. "Instead of spending research on pills that don't help, spend it on social science research that encourages intimacy among people. . .  People need to learn to communicate better".

This one really got me. Taylor said that while it's great that dementia programs are bringing in better quality arts professionals these days, "What happens after that hour? You leave people waiting for the next peak experience". When told that staff never see a resident nearly as expressive as they are in my groups, I am often struck that what that means is that the self of the person with dementia is there inside all the time, with no one to help them come out. That is the reason I teach people to communicate nonverbally and to bring dance to people with dementia. I want others to know what I know that is so very clearly effective. I regularly have the experience as I know other dance movement therapists do of reducing the agitation and improving the mood of people with dementia. Having embodied, aware and self-reflective practitioners on the staff of dementia programs ought to be best practice. I believe that it is grossly neglectful not to utilize the strategies which can be proven effective. However, there needs to be funding to provide such research.

Taylor also spoke about how staff/caregivers will often hug people, often without asking. That is confusing for the person with dementia who may not remember the person hugging. He suggested that caregivers "Learn not to invade their space." "We don't take the time. Just sitting with someone and eventually putting your hand near their hand - works better than asking what's bothering you." These are all skills that are not simply spoken about but practiced in the comprehensive nonverbal communication trainings that I lead.

And finally, Taylor asks:

"What about the person with dementia's higher level needs? Ask what is his purpose today? How is his self-esteem, his sense of belonging today. Then ask about his vital signs."