http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyZQf0p73QM&feature=youtu.be
And it's actually really fucking cool.
So, when I was hospitalized for post-partum depression (which sucks ass) I ended up in the shitty psych ward where they keep the geriatric patients in the same ward as the detox and the actual in-patient psych people. So, you know, anorexic kids sitting next to the guy who can't remember which plate is his. Real useful. Anyway, there was one woman there who only communicated in these kind of stock phrases, I don't know if it was some kind of dementia or if she was taking everyone for a ride or what, but it was pretty disconcerting. If you asked her how she was doing, she'd say "able to get around and take nourishment." Every. Single. Time.
The other patients found out I was a capable singer, and as expected they demanded a demonstration. I'd recently added "You Belong To Me" to my list, so I started that, when [name redacted] looks up and says "I know that song!" Her voice was shaky and awful, but she sang along anyway. It was the closest anyone came to having a conversation with her.
Now if you'll excuse me, my eyes are leaking and I need to see to that.
That was incredibly moving! I love Oliver Sachs, and I am amazed, engrossed, fascinated, and in love with the ways things like music and motion heal the brain. I think music is the original human language.
He came to my old school for a lecture once. In person he's pretty much exactly as he is the interview there; quirky, excited, and sort of unassuming about what he's doing (and if you're tuned in to the results, he doesn't have to boast about it. It WORKS). "Anthropologist on Mars" was very much the same sort of presentation, very little about the writer / narrator, more about the people and how they're dealing or responding to their own condition.
Music is much more magical than most people are willing to admit.
What I DID find surprising (and a little amazing) was that the effect lasted AFTER the music ended, and for as long as the gentleman was being interacted with. He wasn't a lump, anymore, he was animated, alive, and responsive.
One of the amazing things about the brain is that if certain areas related to speech, like Broca's Area and Wernicke's Area, are damaged or disrupted by stroke or other injury, the brain can actually build new language centers if it's appropriately stimulated. Music can be a gateway to connecting to or waking up damaged areas, too.
Quote from: M. Nigel Salt on May 07, 2013, 04:18:07 PM
One of the amazing things about the brain is that if certain areas related to speech, like Broca's Area and Wernicke's Area, are damaged or disrupted by stroke or other injury, the brain can actually build new language centers if it's appropriately stimulated. Music can be a gateway to connecting to or waking up damaged areas, too.
Ed's mother is pretty much lost (responds like the guy in the video). I told him about this, and he's going to talk to her nurse. There doesn't seem to be any way this could
harm her...At worst, she can listen to music from her youth. Ed isn't getting his hopes up - he says - but he's going to see about trying this.
(Ed = Angry Ed, my welder)
Quote from: Queen Gogira Pennyworth, BSW on May 07, 2013, 05:15:47 AM
So, when I was hospitalized for post-partum depression (which sucks ass) I ended up in the shitty psych ward where they keep the geriatric patients in the same ward as the detox and the actual in-patient psych people. So, you know, anorexic kids sitting next to the guy who can't remember which plate is his. Real useful. Anyway, there was one woman there who only communicated in these kind of stock phrases, I don't know if it was some kind of dementia or if she was taking everyone for a ride or what, but it was pretty disconcerting. If you asked her how she was doing, she'd say "able to get around and take nourishment." Every. Single. Time.
The other patients found out I was a capable singer, and as expected they demanded a demonstration. I'd recently added "You Belong To Me" to my list, so I started that, when [name redacted] looks up and says "I know that song!" Her voice was shaky and awful, but she sang along anyway. It was the closest anyone came to having a conversation with her.
Now if you'll excuse me, my eyes are leaking and I need to see to that.
It sounds like it was actually useful as hell.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 07, 2013, 05:46:33 PM
Quote from: Queen Gogira Pennyworth, BSW on May 07, 2013, 05:15:47 AM
So, when I was hospitalized for post-partum depression (which sucks ass) I ended up in the shitty psych ward where they keep the geriatric patients in the same ward as the detox and the actual in-patient psych people. So, you know, anorexic kids sitting next to the guy who can't remember which plate is his. Real useful. Anyway, there was one woman there who only communicated in these kind of stock phrases, I don't know if it was some kind of dementia or if she was taking everyone for a ride or what, but it was pretty disconcerting. If you asked her how she was doing, she'd say "able to get around and take nourishment." Every. Single. Time.
The other patients found out I was a capable singer, and as expected they demanded a demonstration. I'd recently added "You Belong To Me" to my list, so I started that, when [name redacted] looks up and says "I know that song!" Her voice was shaky and awful, but she sang along anyway. It was the closest anyone came to having a conversation with her.
Now if you'll excuse me, my eyes are leaking and I need to see to that.
It sounds like it was actually useful as hell.
I cannot disagree with you more. Many of the people I know who went through that ward required additional therapy just to deal with the experience of going through there before dealing with the things they were hospitalized for.
Quote from: Queen Gogira Pennyworth, BSW on May 07, 2013, 06:20:51 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 07, 2013, 05:46:33 PM
Quote from: Queen Gogira Pennyworth, BSW on May 07, 2013, 05:15:47 AM
So, when I was hospitalized for post-partum depression (which sucks ass) I ended up in the shitty psych ward where they keep the geriatric patients in the same ward as the detox and the actual in-patient psych people. So, you know, anorexic kids sitting next to the guy who can't remember which plate is his. Real useful. Anyway, there was one woman there who only communicated in these kind of stock phrases, I don't know if it was some kind of dementia or if she was taking everyone for a ride or what, but it was pretty disconcerting. If you asked her how she was doing, she'd say "able to get around and take nourishment." Every. Single. Time.
The other patients found out I was a capable singer, and as expected they demanded a demonstration. I'd recently added "You Belong To Me" to my list, so I started that, when [name redacted] looks up and says "I know that song!" Her voice was shaky and awful, but she sang along anyway. It was the closest anyone came to having a conversation with her.
Now if you'll excuse me, my eyes are leaking and I need to see to that.
It sounds like it was actually useful as hell.
I cannot disagree with you more. Many of the people I know who went through that ward required additional therapy just to deal with the experience of going through there before dealing with the things they were hospitalized for.
Dunno, wasn't there. But it sounds like you did that lady some good.
It's the little things, after all...I mean, think about it. The gentleman in the video isn't going to be a "productive member of society" no matter what happens. But they can bring him back to the world for a little while, and that's worth doing on account of he's, you know, a
human being.
And you did it for that lady, at least for a few minutes. Well done.
For the OP, a most excellent find. Mark Thomas did a show called "Bravo Figaro" which covered similar ground. Music does seem to be increasingly used as a therapeutic aid to some effectiveness. The only thing that puzzles me is why he's not got a decent sound system. I'd never let that guy (or anyone similarly aided) far from a set of headphones they control again.
I wonder why the reaction was so different to open/closed question? He seemed to clam up a bit when given freedom to talk, yet was able to give very specific details to vague yes/no questions. May be reaching, but I do wonder if this communication element is part of what's fucking things up in some nursing homes. The wrong kind of questions being asked for the person to be able to respond to? Probably need to think about this more.
QG, I'd guess that the reason for putting everyone together was primarily to find out if any incidental activities help them. I'd put money on a member of staff getting whatever you sang on a CD for her. You've got permanent biped points for actually interacting with her like a human being.
Quote from: Junkenstein on May 07, 2013, 07:32:15 PM
For the OP, a most excellent find. Mark Thomas did a show called "Bravo Figaro" which covered similar ground. Music does seem to be increasingly used as a therapeutic aid to some effectiveness. The only thing that puzzles me is why he's not got a decent sound system. I'd never let that guy (or anyone similarly aided) far from a set of headphones they control again.
I wonder why the reaction was so different to open/closed question? He seemed to clam up a bit when given freedom to talk, yet was able to give very specific details to vague yes/no questions. May be reaching, but I do wonder if this communication element is part of what's fucking things up in some nursing homes. The wrong kind of questions being asked for the person to be able to respond to? Probably need to think about this more.
QG, I'd guess that the reason for putting everyone together was primarily to find out if any incidental activities help them. I'd put money on a member of staff getting whatever you sang on a CD for her. You've got permanent biped points for actually interacting with her like a human being.
I think it's largely a matter of training. How many therapists in a given nursing home? Not many. They do what they can, I think, in the good ones. And you can see in that video the ratio of staff to clients.
That's definitely a part of it too. In a situation like that to give optimum care for a given number of people is always going to be tricky. Generally it's underpaid, long hours and very intensely emotionally draining. The turnover rate is pretty high, but the ones who stick around have incredible patience. I have the utmost respect for good staff in places like that.
I think it's partly that burden of trust that makes me fucking hate the bad staff. There are some jobs where fuck-ups are not acceptable.Though by the nature of it, it seems to attract it's fair share.
Quote from: Junkenstein on May 07, 2013, 08:02:48 PM
I think it's partly that burden of trust that makes me fucking hate the bad staff.
Yep. Just like crooked cops.