Our Latest Video: What Are Alternative Treatments for Dementia

Live-In Caregivers, Bethpage, NY

There are many alternative treatments that are out there and available to help a person manage these symptoms. My name is Jennifer Benjamin, and I’m the owner of Family First Home Companions. And in today’s video, we’re going to talk about what are alternative treatments for dementia. Number one, music therapy.

The part of the brain that remembers music. stays well intact over the course of a person’s disease with dementia. They can recall music for a very long time, even lyrics to the songs. And it has been known to increase engagement, focus, it will lift the person’s mood, and greatly reduce their agitation and anxiety.

I can speak from personal experience about music and its effects on dementia with when my grandmother had dementia for over 10 years, we used music a lot in her daily routine. We would play her favorite songs when she really struggled with a lot of her anxiety and agitation, which tended to be at the end of the day, when she was tired, when the day was shifting into night and she, you know, just wasn’t always in a great frame of mind at that time of the day when we put on music.

It was like seeing a whole new person emerge. She would dance and sing and just have such a good time and really enjoyed it and responded so well to it. So music therapy is a great tool to use with your loved one with dementia. If they’re experiencing anxiety and agitation, even using it once a day, twice a day is going to make a big difference.

Number two, Mneme art therapy. So Mneme art therapy is a type of art therapy that is not only about making the art, but it also includes the movements, the arm movements that a person uses to make the art, conversation during the process of the art making, and the outcome, the actual art that comes out of the session and enjoying the gratification of making the art.

So Mneme art therapy is known to reduce anxiety, agitation, even help a person improve their communication skills because they’re having conversation throughout the process of making the artwork. And this might be artwork that is a painting. It could be drawing, coloring, or even molding clay. But what Mneme really gets to is that it’s not just about the actual art that is a result of the process.

It’s actually more about the process and doing the art and having conversation and maybe singing songs as they’re creating the artwork. So Mneme art therapy is a great way, an alternative treatment to address anxiety, agitation, and provide that cognitive stimulation for a person with dementia. Number three, doll therapy.

Doll therapy is just how it sounds. It’s the use of dolls, stuffed animals, baby dolls, to use as an object to, that consoles the person. who may be experiencing anxiety and agitation with dementia. The person could just hold the doll as a source of comfort. They may take care of the doll. I’ve seen people that put the doll in a stroller and go for walks with the doll.

And so it has this variety of methods. That with the goal to provide comfort as well as a sense of purpose, something that that person can take care of. I have personal experience with doll therapy as well. We also had a doll for my grandmother. It was actually a stuffed puppy doll with a mechanism in it that had a battery operated breathing mechanism.

So that she would sit the doll on her lap and it would appear like the dog was actually breathing. And it just brought her so much comfort and joy. And during times when she was really struggling with feeling agitated or anxious about something, bringing out that doll, sitting it on her lap, and having her just pet it or comfort it, brought her a lot of consolation and brought us a lot of relief.

So dial therapy is just another great way as an alternative treatment to help soothe your loved one’s symptoms and bring some joy to their day. Number four, CBD oil. When I ran support groups for family members of a loved one with dementia, CBD oil would often come up as a method that the members were finding very helpful.

In fact, I had one woman in my support group who mentioned using CBD oil in her loved one’s orange juice in the mornings when her loved one was experiencing a lot of stress. And because of the dementia, she would repeat herself continuously. She would cry often. She had a lot of depressive symptoms and the CBD oil helped to relieve all of that.

CBD comes from the cannabis plant. And it is a component of the plant that produces calming effects for people who ingest it. And CBD comes in many different forms now. I’m sure you have come across this in stores or in your local town. It can be used as pill form Gummy form as well as an oil. CBD is quite safe and it is something that many people use for beyond just dementia symptoms.

It can be used for anxiety, for a depression, and it’s 100 percent legal. To be very clear, CBD is not THC and THC is the part of the cannabis plant that produces that high effect that we tend to associate with marijuana use. So, when you’re looking into CBD as an option, keep in mind that it will not have that high effect and it will only produce the calming effects, which is what you want for your loved one who is experiencing anxiety and agitation due to their dementia.

Number five, pet therapy. It’s not hard to imagine why pet therapy would be beneficial for a person with dementia. It’s been well known to produce a lot of joy, reduce stress, and anxiety for people in general, and especially for people living with dementia. There is a quote, and it states, The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love unconditionally as a dog, and no truer words were stated.

Pet therapy can be Anything from dogs to cats. I’ve even seen mini horses that provide pet therapy for people. And what it will entail is the full effect of petting the animal, holding the animal, just being around the animal. The animal and when you’re looking into pet therapy, you want to make sure that the pet that is providing the therapy is actually a certified vet.

Pet therapy animal. This is important because not all animals have that training and you want to be sure that your loved one is not doing this with an animal that could potentially cause injury or harm. But pet therapy has been known to reduce agitation, even improve nutrition for the person with dementia in some studies and as well as their appetite.

And it also boosts physical activity levels. They have found in studies that after people with dementia have been around pet therapy animals that they have more energy and can do more physical activities. So pet therapy, another great alternative to treatment. treating your loved ones, dementia symptoms, and just making them smile to enjoy that session with an animal.

For more information and to schedule a free in home assessment, visit familyfirsthomecompanions.com.

 

At Family First Home Companions of Long Island, NY our mission is to provide an outstanding home care service that is professional and personalized.  We diligently hire attentive, qualified staff to meet each client’s unique needs and do so with compassion and integrity.  It is an honor and a privilege to help seniors at home to maintain their independence and quality of life in Long Island, NY.  If you or a senior loved one needs help with daily activities such as, meal preparation, household chores, errands, transportation, guidance and supervision for safety at home, please call Family First Home Companions at 631-319-3961.

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