Caregiving Monday: The Power of Music on Alzheimers

I’ve always believe music is the universal language.  Music can reach through time and cultural barriers to unite the listener.Music

Time and again I have worked with Alzheimer patients that are completely lost to the disease.  Often the patient is unable to speak or move and has to have everything done for him/her.

However, I begin to play or sing a hymn or old song and I began to see a spark that wasn’t there before.

On many occasions these women and men, many who rarely speak, began to sing the words to the song or hymn being performed.

That song is reaching through the barrier of time to a memory deeply buried otherwise.

Music has the power to break through the barriers of Alzheimer’s and minister in ways we may not be able to.

In what ways have you seen music break through the barriers of Alzheimer’s?