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37| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,F ebruary 8,2018 theifp.ca Trudy Wolfe, 84, hops to her feet to dance as soon the iconic polka "Roll Out the Barrel" begins playing. Wolfe joins as many as 20 women, most in their 80s, every Wednesday af- ternoon for the women's adult day program run by Etobicoke Services for Se- niors (ESS) at its Horner Avenue location. "I like everything. I like the exercises," Wolfe said. "I like dancing. I like the music. It's fun." ESS offers adult day programs for cognitively impaired seniors, most with dementia and in their 80s, some with mobility is- sues, four days a week at its Alderwood location: two coed, one women, one men. On Thursdays, people with Acquired Brain Injury at- tend the program. Across Canada, an esti- mated 564,000 people live with dementia. That num- ber is expected to rise sharply to nearly one mil- lion, an increase of 66 per cent, by 2031, the Alzheim- er Society Canada states. More than 300 clients a year attend ESS's adult day programs at its four Etobi- coke and one Weston site. "We try to create a natu- ral environment that is non-medical, noninstitu- tional to address the needs of clients' spirit, mind and body. We look at best prac- tices and apply it to our therapy program," Cather- ine Grenaway, ESS's direc- tor of client services, said of its adult day programs, which offers individual care plans. "It allows caregivers to run to the doctor's, get gro- ceries done, the simple tasks we all take for grant- ed that can be near impos- sible to do (when caring for someone with dementia)." Families may contact ESS directly about the pro- grams at agency@essup- portservices.ca or call 416- 243-0127. ESS or the Com- munity Care Access Cen- tre performs client assess- ments. The fee is $24 a day. Fee reductions may be avail- able based on income as- sessments. Donors also help defer some clients' program fees. "Fees are no barrier to service," Grenaway said Clients' personal care needs, including medica- tion assistance, are offered along with breakfast, lunch and two snacks, gen- tle exercises, socialization, activities, story reading, and music therapy. This day, the program focused on music therapy. Business executive Kev- in Jameson, founder, presi- dent and chair of the De- mentia Society of America, flew in from Doylestown, PA to meet the women and see ESS's music therapy at work. Recently, Jameson do- nated $1,000 to expand ESS's music therapy pro- gram. The Dementia Society of America believes dementia education, information and programs can enhance the lives of people living with the spectrum of de- mentias, as well as that of their caregivers, and the community. Jameson's first wife, Ginny, died from dementia. The couple had been to- gether 32 years. He is a keen believer in music therapy's benefits among people with demen- tia. "Music transcends," Jameson said. "Music uses different parts of the brain to help people with cogni- tive reserve. It's no differ- ent than going to a country where you don't speak the language and trying to fig- ure it out. The language of people with dementia may be impaired, but there are other kinds of language, like music, touch, smiles." The Alzheimer's Associ- ation in the U.S. estimates more than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer's. One in three American seniors will die with Alzheimer's or anoth- er dementia, it states. Perhaps the most-star- tling static: every 66 sec- onds, someone in the U.S. develops Alzheimer's, the association states. Rather than shock Jameson, the statistics spur him to action to help more people with dementia and their families. "We are where cancer was 50 years ago. Fifty years ago, it was the C-word. Now, it's the D-word," Jameson said. "There is a lot of taboo. There is a lot of stigma. Peo- ple are afraid if they men- tion it, they think they're go- ing to get it. On the flip side, there is maintaining and do- ing what you can for your own brain health. It's a two- sided story." Peggy Peacock, ESS's day program co-ordinator at its Alderwood site, will soon be taking training, paid by Jameson, to fur- ther adapt a 13-DVD set, ti- tled "Pathways, Making Connections by Singing: a Comprehensive Singing Program for Memory Care", to ESS's day pro- grams. Currently, ESS splits its one 13-DVD Pathway set among its five sites. Jame- son has offered to purchase them another set, which in- cludes activity books and online training. It retails for $699. While Wolfe felt moved to jump to her feet to the polka, two Italian women led enthusiastic singing, feet tapping, to "That's Amore", another song on Pathways' Journeys Eu- rope DVD. "Some clients are very, very quiet. With a little mu- sic on the DVD or singing, they start singing and com- ing out with lyrics, even if they have difficulty speak- ing a sentence that makes sense," Peacock said. "Mu- sic encourages speaking, singing, dancing and con- necting, not just with our staff, but with other cli- ents. We know music re- leases endorphins, and un- locks memory." SENIORS STORY Unlocking memory with music TAMARA SHEPHARD tshephard@insidetoronto.com Please call for a tour 8:30 am - 5:00 pm Accredited by: R.R. 2, Guelph 519-856-4622 www.edenhousecarehome.ca 130 Mill Street East, Acton 519-853-0079 Full & Partial Dentures Implant Retained Dentures Precision Dentures (BPS® Certified) Relines, Additions & Repairs Dental Lab On Site No Referrals Needed To advertise on this page call Kelli: 905-234-1018 or email kkosonic@theifp.ca