Meaningful Activity You Can Do with Your LO in Late Stages of Dementia

Download 2 FREE dementia cheatsheets at this link: https://dementiasuccesspath.com/yt-cs

1- Activities Ideas
2- What to say/do for specific Challenging Behaviors

Thanks for watching! In this video I'll share a meaningful activity you can do with your loved one in late stage of dementia, the stage where they struggle to talk or move on their own and how to use that activity with examples so that you can create beautiful moments with your LO that you can treasure forever while they are with you and when they pass on.

Dementia Activities Cheatsheet + Challenging Behaviors Cheatsheet Download Here:
https://dementiasuccesspath.com/yt-cs

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The Activity that Works with Late Stage Dementia:
A song that represents a strong memory of a person or place from childhood or early adulthood at the latest.

In late stage dementia, long term memories are usually the only memories left standing and we unconsciously associate songs with people or specific times in our lives. Which makes songs tied to that long term memory an effective tool to help bring that memory to the surface and help bring our loved ones as we knew them back to us for a moment.

Story Example: Scene from "Coco" and a Personal Story:
In this scene, the grandma is in late stages of dementia, non-verbal and doesn't even look up. Her great grandson first tries to talk to her with no avail, I'm sure you've seen this be the case. He then pulls out a guitar and plays a song that her father used to play to her every night as a little girl

Slowly the grandmother locks eyes with her grandson and starts singing all of the words until the end of the song. Even more amazing then this, she is able to hold a short relevant conversation with not just her grandson but also her daughter immediately after the song and amazingly, this is how it actually looks in real life if you choose the right song.

A personal story of mine in using music to create a meaningful moment with someone in late stage dementia was witnessing a spanish speaking lady in late stage dementia who screamed non-stop sing the entirety of besame mucho with me and was able to answer simple questions immediately after the song. However, the most meaningful part of this moment was that she grabbed my hand, looked into my eyes and smiled. The music may have pulled her out of dementia for a moment but the connection we had in that moment was what mattered.

Story Examples: Alive Inside
Have you seen the documentary alive inside? For those who haven't, it is about a program created after healthcare workers in nursing homes discovered the miraculous effects old ipods loaded up with familiar music had on their late stage dementia residents.
I'm going to share a quick clip of the viral video inside for those who haven't seen the documentary

The reason he reacted to the music he was listening to is that music is one of the last things to go is our ability to understand and remember through music. As a board certified music therapist, these moments with folks who are in late stage dementia aren't rare, they are a daily thing I create

If you take away anything from this video it is this: Even in late stage dementia, your LO is still in there. Reaching out and finding creative ways to connect with them and bring them back to you continues to be important even in the late stages. Try this and let me know in the comments how this worked for you and your LO in late stages.