The society is making free iPod Shuffles with personalized music available to caregivers of people with dementia both in long-term care and community settings. To qualify, the caregiver or person with dementia must live in Toronto. The person receiving the iPod must also have a formal diagnosis of dementia.

The society has served about 1,200 people through the program since it began 18 months ago. The society works with family members, family members and caregivers to select the most appropriate music to load into the iPods.

“The iPod (program) really fits with our mandate of improving quality of life but also increasing our footprint in the community,” Sabrina McCurbin, the society’s iPod project co-ordinator, tells the Morning Report.

“Our goal was not to provide music therapy but rather an added tool to improve quality of life for people with dementia and also their caregivers.”

McCurbin says feedback the society has received from family members and caregivers indicates the iPods have been successful at reducing aggressive behaviours and agitation in people with dementia.

Family members and caregivers say they have found the devices to be effective when those with dementia have to go on long trips or visit their doctor. The iPods are even showing to be successful at fending off the effects of sundowning, a phenomenon that occurs during sunsets when some people with dementia become increasingly agitated.

“We’re hearing that no matter what stage of the disease people are in — early stage or palliative, (caregivers and family members) are finding that . . . the iPods are effective,” McCurbin says.

The son of a man with dementia who was receiving palliative care recently told the society that his father became “more peaceful and relaxed” as soon as he plugged into an iPod, she adds.

McCurbin explains the important role music plays for people with cognitive impairment.

“We can all connect with music in a very personal way because we create a soundtrack for our own lives as we go through pivotal moments,” she says.

“For people with Alzheimer’s, music is able to connect with the emotional memory attached to a song, so what that will do is bring alive that emotional memory that was connected with that moment.”

Click here to learn more about the Alzheimer Society of Toronto’s iPod project.

If your long-term care home is interested in learning more about the project, please contact McCurbin at SMcCurbin(at)alzheimertoronto.org.

Writer: Deron Hamel

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