The Power of Connection: How Reading and Music Keep People with Dementia Alive
Emotional Statement: Imagine a world where people with dementia are forgotten, treated like zombies, and denied the joy of stories and music. This is a reality for far too many, but it doesn't have to be. Jo Glanville's powerful article reminds us that people with dementia are still people, with joys and interests of their own. But here's where it gets controversial...
Controversial Point: Some argue that people with dementia should be allowed to end their lives, even when they are still able to enjoy stories and music. And this is the part most people miss...
Jo Glanville's story is a powerful reminder that people with dementia are still alive, even when they can no longer speak for themselves. Her mother, despite being bedbound and crippled by vascular dementia, remained alive and herself right to the end. But what about the people who can no longer speak for themselves?
Thought-Provoking Question: Should we deny people with dementia the right to choose when to end their lives, even when they are still able to enjoy stories and music? Join the discussion in the comments!
Jo Glanville's insights on her parent's enduring love of stories deep into dementia truly resonated. After his 2017 Alzheimer's and vascular dementia diagnosis, her father's lifelong love of reading seemingly ceased. Instead of accepting it, she thought it would make a difference to change the format rather than the activity. She began to write short, illustrated rhyming books with optional audio with music. Exercises, based on cognitive stimulation therapy, were added to stimulate conversation.
Working with Alzheimer's Society: Unlike Glanville's experience of shared reading, they found that people with mild to moderate dementia could still read independently, while others could enjoy stories with a partner, in groups or through audio. The results have been extraordinary. They've helped thousands. Her father might not be able to remember breakfast, but he can recite from memory passages about the Beatles or the 1966 World Cup. And when he does, she gets to tell him, "I wrote that" and watch the joy and pride on his face once again.
Music as a Connection: Jo Glanville's sensitive piece about the power of reading to her parents, who both had forms of dementia, reminded me of the small success I had through music during lockdown, with my sister who had Alzheimer's. As three sisters growing up, our party piece was the song "Sisters", sung by the Beverley Sisters. So on FaceTime with my sister in her nursing home, I would play our song and sing along, and she, whose memory had been shot to pieces, amazingly joined in, smiling and being released for a short while from her illness. Just wonderful.
The Hidden Thoughts and Perceptions of People with Dementia: What an interesting piece about the hidden thoughts and perceptions of people with dementia. When my mother was in the last stages of dementia, we both enjoyed looking through a book of photographs of Victorian children. She had been a teacher. And she liked getting letters. She had been a lifelong letter writer. JoGlanville is right: people like this are not "dead". The proponents of "assisted dying" deny that their bill is the thin end of the wedge – but we clearly see the wedge in the hands of the novelist Ian McEwan, who, as Glanville says, has advocated for its extension to people with dementia.
Conclusion: People with dementia are still people, with joys and interests of their own. Reading and music can help keep them engaged and connected, and we must fight to protect their right to enjoy these things. What do you think?
