This morning I had the luxury of a 2 hour car drive to listen to and be inspired by the music of Kareen King. I recently purchased her cd, The Person in the Picture Ain't Me. Kareen sings from the perspective of people with dementia. " The album provides the listener with an opportunity to walk in the shoes of those who have spent the last season of their lives in a nursing home. It shatters the negative stereotypes of older adults and gives voice to the human spirit no matter how aged the skin."
Sound depressing? It decidely is not!!! My spirit soared as I listened to Kareen's gorgeous voice and heartfelt lyrics express some of the feelings I have heard people with dementia express, from readiness to die to anger at being abandoned. The thing about Kareen's music is the excellence of not only her voice, but the orchestration. From the poignant swelling of the violin strings to the snappy banjo rhythms, the lyrics and music cause us to feel the many dimensions as well as rhythms, attitudes, flavors and emotions of real people with dementia.
With time to ponder, I thought about how often people with dementia are provided with the bare minimum. Because they can't speak for themselves, or if they do speak, their thoughts and feelings are so often disregarded, institutions which provide care for people with dementia can get away with mediocre entertainment and services. And yet, when the people who provide services to them are excellent entertainers, or dance, music, art therapists, their enhanced responsiveness and liveliness are observable. I, for one, have seen the dramatic difference.
So I began to dream, envision .... Inspired by Excellence: A Conference of Creative Arts Therapies for Dementia. A conference where artists and arts therapists who work with people with dementia come together to share their excellence and inspire one another. I imagine presenters such as Kareen King, Omar Cain poet and rapper, Donna Allen photographer and writer, and myself, Donna Newman-Bluestein, dance movement therapist who were all on Creative Alley at the Pioneer Network Conference plus Judith-Kate Friedman of Songwriting Works. While I'm dreaming, I might as well dream of being joined by friend and colleague, dance movement therapist Heather Hill of Australia. I imagine dance therapists, music therapists, expressive therapists, art therapists, poetry therapists and drama therapists and artists in every medium who LOVE working with people with dementia coming together to infuse one another and those interested in learning more.
I imagine such a conference happening in or near a facility with people with dementia, so that at least some of the groups would be done with people with dementia who would benefit directly in the moment and so that we could all see the benefits firsthand. I imagine this conference being professionally filmed,so that it could live on and continue to inspire others in the future. And while I'm at it, I imagine it co-sponsored by an institution which would analyze the films for research purposes, proving once and for all the indisputable benefits of quality arts for people with dementia.
Do I have any takers? Any funders? Anyone who wants to pick this up and fly with it? Because one thing I know, our current care for people with dementia is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Please let us truly HONOR OUR MOTHERS AND FATHERS.
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