The Kenwood by Senior Star offers a multitude of senior living programs, but we’re exceptionally proud to be one of the few greater Cincinnati senior care communities to provide the Memories in the Making® program (MIM) through the Alzheimer’s Association.
Art is a powerful activity for the mind and its purpose is to evoke emotion. For the viewer, emotion is evoked from the art itself, but for the artist, it’s the process of creating that has a powerful impact on the brain. Through this program, residents with dementia can express their thoughts, feelings, emotions and memories that they wouldn’t be able to through words.
Studies have shown that this program reaps numerous benefits for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, but it also benefits the residents’ family members and caregivers.
- Improves self esteem
- Serves as an outlet for emotions
- Increases attention span and focus
- Activates neurons
- Reduces isolation and provides opportunity to socialize
- Taps into pockets of memory that still exist
- Reconnects families
When residents pull memories through art, it reassures family members and caregivers that those memories still exist within the resident’s brain and it builds a stronger sense of connection between the resident, family members and caregivers. A resident could paint a picture of a barn, from a memory of when they took trips to the farm as a child; or, they could paint a saxophone, an instrument they used to play in their local jazz band.
At The Kenwood, the program is run by an art facilitator in a small group. The goal is to encourage residents to paint, and the program doesn’t emphasize painting well because it allows for residents to bring back memories through their art on their own terms. Family members and caregivers are welcome to attend the program with their loved one, too.
Interested in participating in Memories in the Making® at The Kenwood? Contact us today. Or, learn more about our other memory care programs and services.
