Blog

Intergenerational Chorus Collaboration – “When Memory Fades”

The On a Positive Note Chorus and the Xavier High School Chorale   Several years ago, Emily Albrecht, a music education major at St. Olaf College, proposed an exciting idea to her mother, Kathleen. For one of her course requirements, she would design a detailed curriculum for high school students to learn about aging, dementia, creativity, music, and creating dementia friendly communities. Emily knew the music teachers at Xavier High School, her alma mater, and invited the director of the […] https://www.foxvalleymemoryproject.org/intergenerational-chorus-collaboration-when-memory-fades/

Creative Care – Book Review by Susan H. McFadden

Imagine this: A world where people diagnosed with some type of dementia continue to experience joy and wonder regardless of the progression of their dementia; a world where communities view various forms of long-term care as places for engaging arts and cultural events; a world in which people living with a dementia do not need to be concerned about what they forget, but rather are celebrated for what they can imagine. Can such a world be possible? In her new […] https://www.foxvalleymemoryproject.org/creative-care-book-review-by-susan-h-mcfadden/

Crossing: A caregiver’s journey – Book Review by Susan H. McFadden

I have read a lot of poetry by people caring for loved ones with dementia, but this collection of poems is by far the best in my opinion. It describes a journey of love and care from the first moments of being concerned about someone’s cognitive abilities, to the time when care is no longer possible in the home and a transition must be made to a residential care community, and then to death and grief. The book opens by […] https://www.foxvalleymemoryproject.org/crossing-a-caregivers-journey-book-review-by-susan-h-mcfadden/

Connected in Caring

A gentleman who is providing full time care for his wife who is experiencing moderate memory loss recently asked me how he would ask and accept assistance. He says when he thinks about finding support, he immediately stops because he tells himself that he should be able to do this himself and would see himself as a “mooch.” Those messages or self-talk that are ingrained in us are hard to recognize and can be even harder to change. If you […] https://www.foxvalleymemoryproject.org/connected-in-caring/