A recent article reported in the Yale Journal of Medicine and Law examined the expanding field of musical therapy. Music therapy is being proposed as a treatment for autism, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease, to name a few. Highly individualized programs involving singing, playing instruments, composing music and analyzing songs are used to stimulate the brain in…

A new study from researchers at Pennsylvania State University and the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging finds that caregivers and their relatives who suffer from dementia widely disagree on the amount and quality of care both given and received. However, where the caregiver saw the individual as able to direct his or her daily life, a basis of…

Having ‘The Talk’ with mom and dad in your 40′s can be just as uncomfortable as it was when you were in your teens. The topic is different now – but still fraught with all kinds of unexpressed emotions. I’m referring to the talk about ‘aging in place’, health care directives, powers of attorney and…

Today was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Just the fact that we need such a day makes me wonder what pushes a person to act so awfully. It brought to mind a course from my law school days, Children and the Law.  During one class, a panel of lawyers who practised in the area came to…

I had the most amazing experience on Friday afternoon. I was sitting at a table with a few people in the pub of a local retirement residence. I was chatting with the new activity coordinator, when a friend, a woman with whom I have been working three times each week, called me by name. Now,…