Australia's elderly tap into dance therapy to treat dementia
Jennie Hewitt of Feros Care in New South Wales has seen how introducing elderly residents to the concept of silent discos has helped them to become more engaged in everyday life.
The healing benefits of music are well-documented, and now an aged care facility in New South Wales, Australia is testing the benefits of incorporating movement into their therapy for the elderly.
Jennie Hewitt is the positive living coordinator at Feros Care and believes that the time a resident spends at an aged care facility should be full of opportunities to learn and experience new things.
One such new thing is the dance and music therapy that Jennie and her team offer through weekly silent discos. Jennie describes the concept: "Residents [are] given a headset, which plays popular music from their past, helping to tap into areas of their brain that other therapies cannot."
Music is connected to memories, which is how residents are able to sing along to the lyrics and even start dancing when they hear the music.
Jennie and her team are taking steps to do more scientific research into the long-term benefits of dance and music therapy, but so far all the anecdotal evidence is positive, with Jennie reporting a generally enhanced mood in residents as well as an effort to connect and communicate with others from those residents who are ordinarily very withdrawn.