Elsa summarises the afternoon and the group’s discussions below:

Last month, I was invited to join a local senior citizens group in Norbury, South London, to speak about the role of music in dementia care and specifically, our newly developed online training course, ‘Music Helps (UK)’.

The group, ranging in age and primarily of South Asian heritage, meet weekly for a friendly get-together, sharing good food and company, and often invite guest speakers to discuss a range of topics.

Over the afternoon, we talked about some of the early signs and symptoms of dementia, how receiving a diagnosis can open doors to support and community, and considered some of the common misconceptions about dementia which might feed into stigma around the condition. We thought about some of the challenges that adjusting to life with dementia might bring, both for the person experiencing it and for those supporting them. We also spoke about the important role of music and the many ways it might be used to support the care of someone living with dementia, affording a powerful alternative means of connection.

Some of the group shared personal accounts of their experiences of family members living with dementia, and contemplated their own relationships with music. One group member reflected on the importance of music for her own teenage daughter, imagining how the playlists accompanying her daughter’s formative years could correlate to the kind of time-transporting effect a certain song might activate for someone living with dementia.

Another member of the group, who lives with dementia herself, attends the group regularly with her daughter. At one point in the session, her daughter asked her about some of her favourite songs, gently suggesting a few familiar names to her. Taking this in, she paused for a moment, before starting to sing a whole verse in Gujarati, eyes closed, as the group listened in. It was a moving moment and demonstrated beautifully how musical memory is often only a word or a phrase away, just waiting for the hook.

This led us to take a deeper look at ‘Music Helps (UK)’, our online, interactive training course designed to equip caregivers with an accessible “musical toolkit” to support the care of someone living with dementia. The course explores practical ways to embed music into the heart of dementia caregiving, demonstrating different ways music can be woven into daily care to facilitate meaningful interaction and help to alleviate symptoms. Adapting lyrics to suit daily care tasks might help someone living with dementia to feel more included or less anxious, using personalised playlists might help to stimulate conversation, encourage reminiscence, or to promote movement, while following someone’s lead in musical play might allow them to feel in control, raising self-esteem.

Nina, one of the session leaders, spoke positively about her recent experience of participating in the Music Helps (UK) course herself. She shared how she had found the course useful both practically and personally, allowing her to better understand the perspective of someone with dementia and – in turn – to approach caregiving with greater patience and compassion.

Having completed the Music Helps (UK) course, I do feel I have more understanding of what someone living with dementia is going through – and when you have that, the challenge becomes less.

Finally, led by Nina, we rounded off the afternoon with some group singing, turning to some classic Bollywood hits which many of the group remembered the words to (with optional dance moves for those feeling up to it!). It was a fun way to bring everyone together and to allow everyone to participate as much as they wished.

Everyone is glowing now we’ve had a song and dance!

Many thanks to Nina and to the Norbury Senior Citizens Group for inviting me along and for sharing in the discussions so generously.

If you would like someone to come and visit your setting or regular group to talk about the role of music in dementia care, we would be very happy to hear from you – please get in touch.