FORGET MEMORY BLOG

I thought I’d share a bit about the presentations I’ll be making in the next couple months.

I just got back from giving a talk at Duke University’s Joseph and Kathleen Bryan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Conference. Storytelling is a strong tradition in the Carolinas, so I always enjoy giving talks about micro and macro storytelling (personal and institutional stories) at this exceedingly well-run conference.  They are good peeps.

I also just got back from an exhilarating day at the Museum of Modern Art. Their accessibility program coordinated a pre-conference workshop (as part of the Vanderbilt Arts in Healthcare symposium) on the arts and Alzheimer’s. Gay Hanna, Director of the National Center for Creative Aging talked about arts and aging in general. Meg Sewell gave an impassioned description of what we know, and what we need to know about Alzheimer’s. I followed with an overview of what is being done in the arts and Alzheimer’s. After that, the workshop shifted to the Meet Me At MoMA program. Francesca Rosenberg described the basics, but the heart and soul details were filled in by a panel of people who have gone through the program. Wives, sons, husbands, and people with dementia talked eloquently of the importance of opening the doors of one of our country’s most incredible collection of art to people with cognitive disabilities and their families. For people used to daily struggles with basic care and to overcome isolation and loneliness, this program offered a way to create special new memories of a shared experience of inspiration. It lifted them from their daily struggles. It gave them something to brag about. It honored them.

I’ll also be at ASA in March, speaking with Susan McFadden about the importance of story in dementia.

I’ll be talking at the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association’s conference on April 2nd in Madison (and visiting my parents!).
I’ll be addressing a similar topic at the New York City Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Early Memory Loss conference on May 2nd.

On May 4th, I’ll be back in Milwaukee at the State Conference for the Alzheimer’s Association, talking on Sunday evening about “Remembering What’s Important” in dementia care.

I think that’s it for now…Phew!