Music Therapy and Dementia

Dementia is a progressive disease found in mostly Older people. It is described as the deterioration of brain function. It will affect memory, thinking, judgement, behavior and other every day life skills. It can be caused by different medical conditions, along with other factors that occur through out someone’s life. Dementia is broken down into three stages based on progression. There are many interventions used to slow down the digression of the disease, one being Music Therapy. Dementia can be caused by many different factors. One element that can be a leading cause for dementia in elderly people is Alzheimer’s Disease (Whalley, 2006). Alzheimer’s Disease is another neurological disease that causes confusion and memory loss. It can come from Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Huntington’s Disease and infections that affect the brain; such as HIV/AIDS and Lyme Disease (Hoch, 2009). Dementia can also be age related, “accumulate over time” (Whalley, 2006). The reason it may come with aging is due to normal brain aging, however, occurring at a quicker than normal rate. There are also some factors that can be eliminated before hand to reduce the likely-hood of developing Dementia later in life; such as chronic alcohol abuse, brain tumors, use of certain medications, low B12 levels and unstable blood sugar levels (Hoch, 2009). The first stage of Dementia is labeled as Early- Stage Dementia. The signs of are very subtle at this point in time. Most commonly found in Early- Stage Dementia patients is memory loss. This, however, is not a definite sign that someone suffers from Dementia because it can be common for anyone to be forgetful at times. If this does begin to be evident it is important to look for an increase in memory loss, plus some confusion and disorientation. If the person is married their spouse may notice that their significant other may have more abrupt and angry speech (Clair, 2008). Others around people with Early- Stage

Cited: Clair, AA (Winter 1996). The Effect of Singing on Alert Responses in Persons with Late Stage Dementia. The Journal of Music Therapy 33, pg. 234-247. Retrieved October 1, 2011 Clair, AA (2008). Therapeutic uses of music with older adults. (2 ed., pp. 69-93). American music therapy association Inc. Harrison, L (June 2011). Music therapy beneficial for dementia patients: exper analysis from the annual, conference of the American society of aging. Clinical Psychiatry News 39.6, pg. 26. Retrieved October 1, 2011 Hoch, D (2009). Dementia: Chronic brain syndrome; Lewy body dementia; Vascular dementia; Mild cognitive impairment. ADAM Medical encyclopedia. Massachusetts: A.D.A.M. PubMed Whalley, L (Jan 2006). A life- course approach to the aetiology of late- onset dementias. The Lancet Neurology 5.1, pg. 87-96. Retrieved October 1, 2011