Program Uses Poetry to Help People With Dementia Connect

A new creative arts program offered by the Alzheimer's Association Hudson Valley (N.Y.) Chapter this fall is geared toward people with dementia and their family caregivers, reports Patch.com . The "Something for Alz: Poetry for Connection and Reflection" initiative will be helmed by Mary Farkas, a licensed creative arts therapist with a practice in Beacon, N.Y., with sessions to be held on Zoom on three consecutive Wednesdays. Farkas will read a poem to the group, then invite them to respond by reading it back or in whatever way they can. "I've found a way to use poetry as a tool for self-expression, to help people communicate some of their thoughts and feelings," says Farkas. She explains that participants do not have to be passionate about poetry, adding that "it's about coming and being with your loved ones and being together with a group." Farkas also says verbal ability is not a prerequisite for participation. "I believe very much that if you've met one person with Alzheimer's disease, you have not met them all. They are not all the same," she notes. "There is a way the words in poetry can become a safe space for all of us."