Art boosts Alzheimer's patients' spirits

[SoCalDem]

Art boosts Alzheimer's patients' spirits

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/alzheimers_art_therapy;_ylt=Av966Ciay2CO_pIn4gAyRHlsaMYA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA--


DENVER - Not a word is spoken as five aging artists sit at a table in a small room and draw. Talking is discouraged, since it can be distracting: The artists are Alzheimer's patients in the first stages of the dementia disorder that afflicts an estimated 4.5 million Americans. One patient, Jim Lash, 83, isn't moving. His brush is still. "He was hung up. I suggested he go on to another part of it," said aide Jeanne Hill, and he did. Getting Alzheimer's patients to sit for 45 minutes is a challenge under any circumstances and for some of the artists the choice of colors has to be limited.

The group is part of the Memories in the Making program that began in 1988 in Orange County, Calif. There are now dozens of chapters in 26 states and experts say the artwork has provided an extraordinary outlet for Alzheimer's patients. "One of the things that emerged was that even with the loss of memory the capacity for imagination still has it place," said Dr. Gene Cohen, the director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at George Washington University who has studied the effect of art on people with Alzheimer's.

"Art is a wonderful activity ...snip...