The very last part of the brain to die is the part that understands music. Yorkville High School students are participating in an amazing intergenerational project with instructors from AgeGuide – Northeastern Illinois Agency on Aging to help individuals with dementia through music.
Produced in 2014, the documentary Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory inspired this intriguing new project, and Chip Staley, a Naperville resident, retired high school music teacher and Fine Arts Department chair has brought this concept to life locally. Using the Alive Inside model, young interviewers assist older adults with dementia to regain lost memories through listening to the music of their past.
I urge you to see this documentary. It is so compelling and to know friends and loved ones nearby can participate in and grow through this initiative is invigorating.
Yorkville High School students have participated in this program for three years, volunteering alongside staff at Senior Services Associates, Inc. Each year, 20 students, all members of the national honors organization, Tri-M, attend training under Staley’s direction.
“In the training, we help the students understand dementia, and to identify people of cognitive decline, in various stages of the disease,” Staley said. “Dementia is an umbrella term. They learn about Lewy Body, Frontal Lobe, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinsons. Most have never heard about any of these diseases before the training. We talk about how dementia impacts cognition, but usually spares crucial pathways of connection like social chit chat, poetry, and song. We want the students to focus on what the elders are still capable of doing so that they can better investigate the music that will connect the elders to their memories.” Staley added.
The result is remarkable. The students learn to focus on the abilities of individuals with dementia. Then they get the opportunity to have one-on -one interviews with them with a goal of helping them reconnect lost memories through music.
“When we prepare the students, we talk about the possibility of forming a relationship with someone who is frustrated with their quality of life. We teach the students to be patient, to listen, and to be empathetic,” Staley said. “The purpose is to gather enough information to discern the individual’s musical preferences from 12 to 24 years of age. All of us have had immensely powerful experiences where music plays a key role. The brain stores musical memory, and our brains attach music to lived experiences.”
The students experience watching these individuals retrieve memories and temporarily regain the ability to have conversations with loved ones. “The teens visit with their elders for an hour, and then come back two weeks later with earphones and music in hand. They play music with the elders and then hear the stories of their lives. The students are astounded at the transformation,” Staley said.
This amazing opportunity fell right into Staley’s lap. “I had just retired, and my wife invited me to see a screening of the documentary at Metropolitan Family Service in Wheaton. This was the Summer of my retirement, but after seeing this documentary, I had to act on it,’ Staley recalled. “After the showing, they announced that they wanted to start a program and asked for someone to run it. I said, OK, I can do that.”
Staley now facilitates the Alive Inside Program in four high schools, Neuqua Valley, Yorkville, Oswego East, and Lincoln Way Central. “AgeGuide – Northeastern Illinois Agency on Aging sponsors this grant-based program, and the elders get all the music and equipment for free,” Staley said.
The original documentary, Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory is available on the website www.Aliveinside.org. The founder, Michael Rossato Bennett provided the curriculum that Staley uses for this intergenerational program.
“These kids come away from this experience able to help educate their own families. They recognize and understand common behaviors that can be annoying and are able to explain why Grandma does the things she does. Staley said that amongst the teens who participate, there are always one or two who never considered music therapy, but all of a sudden think that is a field they could pursue. That is not the purpose, but it is pretty compelling.
Barb Nadeau is the Mobility & Community Relations Manager for Voluntary Action Center of Northern Illinois, representing five counties. Barb’s career includes many years as a professional television and radio host, as well as a print and social media journalist, and as a Volunteer Coordination professional, networking among non-profit social service agencies throughout the State of Illinois. She is a freelance writer and an elected Alderman in the City of Plano. Contact Barb at bvnadeau@gmail.com.