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Victorian Home Care Newsletter
June 2009
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Helpful Devices Yet To Be Created
Some
disabilities and obstacles to living are particular to individual
circumstances. If you have a problem or you know someone who has a
problem and you've tried to find a solution on the commercial market
with no success, there may be a way to get a design created and built.
Tetra's services are free to the client. The only costs are materials and the incidental expenses of the volunteer.
Check out Tetra's website here.
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No-Contract Cell Phone Plans
Now there are several ways to have cell phone service without long-term contracts and for low prices. Check out Jitterbug, Consumer Cellular, Tracfone and Hop-On for some options.
Mobile Peace of Mind: A New Phone Concept
Check
out the ClarityLife C900 Amplified Mobile Phone that is twice as loud
as an ordinary cell phone and offers large buttons for easy dialing.
View the Web site here.
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Greetings!
According to the Alzheimer's Association in the "2009 Alzheimer's
Disease Facts and Figures" report, one in eight persons ages 65 and
older has Alzheimer's disease. In the race to find new ways to
stimulate the brain to fend off the effects of the disease, science has
increasingly been found waltzing with the arts.
Music memory is
preserved better than verbal memory, dancing massages memory function,
and art stimulates the brain through positive self expression. With
nearly 10 million Americans caring for someone with Alzheimer's at
home, every new piece of information to help cope with the disease
deserves attention.
As always, we send this newsletter in a
spirit of sharing and community. We hope you will find the included
news informative and beneficial.
Thank you,
The Team at Victorian Home Care
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Music, Dance and Art: Winning the Culture War Against Alzheimer's Disease
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Musical Interludes
 If
you can find the songs that were popular when the Alzheimer's patient
was young, it is possible that music can help the patient relate to
others and experience some long lost joy in life. Music seems to
trigger strong feelings and cue the body to synchronize with its
rhythm, according to recent articles.
The Journal of Music
Therapy reports several studies that show activities like moving to
music, playing rhythm instruments and singing lead to more group
involvement and less wandering and disruptive behavior.
Access an abstract of one of the articles here, and read more about music therapy here.
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Dance to the Music
 Some
studies are showing that dancing may reduce the risk of illness and
even counteract the ravages of aging. In addition, dancing offers
mental, physical, and social benefits. These findings were reported in
a study at Queen's University in Belfast.
Ballroom dancing was
also found to help prevent dementia, as reported in a study by
scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Another study
there found that older people who danced had better balance and gait
than those who did not dance. So, dance to the music!
Read more here.
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Enjoy Art, Enjoy Life
 Imagine
an Alzheimer's patient exposed to art in a non-threatening and open
environment. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City (MoMA) has
created a program for early- and moderate-stage Alzheimer's patients
and their caregivers. Once a month, after hours, groups of patients and
caregivers are led to selected artworks for observation and discussions
by trained professionals.
Brain stimulation is a known antidote
to the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Now, the positive results of
exposure to art prove that viewing and discussing art offers an
opportunity for positive social engagement, self-expression and brain
stimulation for those with Alzheimer's disease.
Because of the
success of this program, the museum is offering to help other museums
and professional caregivers develop their own programs for people
living with dementia and Alzheimer's. The offerings include print and
online training guides and nationwide workshops.
For more information, click here.
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About Victorian Home Care:
For nearly 30 years Victorian Home
Care has been providing superior home care and geriatric care management
services to seniors or people with physical and/or mental disabilities in Monterey,
Santa Cruz, and San
Benito Counties. Care, compassion, integrity, and exceptional customer service are Victorian's
guiding principles, employing only carefully selected caregivers who are
the most dedicated and qualified and strive to ensure the same kind of care
family members would provide. Victorian Home Care services include
assistance with activities of daily living, personal care, transportation,
respite care and medication management. For
more information visit www.victorianhomecare.com
or call (831) 655-1935 in Monterey
or (831) 662-3093 in Aptos.
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