Practitioner says art helps those with dementia
ART can be used to help people with dementia and Alzheimer's, an artist working with a residential home in Beaconsfield has said.
The art practitioner says art is a way of helping people with dementia tap into their subconscious.
She said: "You can't be too structured, especially with dementia patients, which is why art works so well.
"Often they'll remember something they did when they were young that they couldn't recall before."
She added: "One man was very anxious, but once he started copying some Van Gogh he relaxed.
"For borderline dementia patients there's this total immersion. It's like a coffee break - it's an escape where people are more than their condition."
Lynne Jones began running art classes with Sunrise in 2008 when her mother-in-law moved into the home and is hoping to offer more people a chance to paint and draw.
Since then the class has expanded to Denham White Plains and Catherine Court in High Wycombe and Lynne is working with the Alzheimer's Society to open an art cafe in Chesham next month.
Doreen Wilkins, 71, has been coming to the classes for three years. She said: "It's very relaxing, and there's quite a camaraderie with the other people.
"It gets me out of bed and it's calming because I just have to think about what to paint."
Daphne Hansen, 89, who moved into Sunrise six months ago, said: "Being in a wheelchair I can't always do the activities at the home, so the art class is a great way of escaping from everything and just painting."
She said: "You can't be too structured, especially with dementia patients, which is why art works so well.
"Often they'll remember something they did when they were young that they couldn't recall before."
She added: "One man was very anxious, but once he started copying some Van Gogh he relaxed.
"For borderline dementia patients there's this total immersion. It's like a coffee break - it's an escape where people are more than their condition."
Lynne Jones began running art classes with Sunrise in 2008 when her mother-in-law moved into the home and is hoping to offer more people a chance to paint and draw.
Since then the class has expanded to Denham White Plains and Catherine Court in High Wycombe and Lynne is working with the Alzheimer's Society to open an art cafe in Chesham next month.
Doreen Wilkins, 71, has been coming to the classes for three years. She said: "It's very relaxing, and there's quite a camaraderie with the other people.
"It gets me out of bed and it's calming because I just have to think about what to paint."
Daphne Hansen, 89, who moved into Sunrise six months ago, said: "Being in a wheelchair I can't always do the activities at the home, so the art class is a great way of escaping from everything and just painting."
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