According to the Alzheimer’s Association, as many as 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. With no known cure, many therapists are looking for new ways to help those who are suffering. People with Alzheimer’s experience memory and/or speech loss and often develop problems communicating their thoughts and feelings.

Recent research has shown that integrating art therapy into an Alzheimer’s patient’s regimen may help them to not only reconnect with lost memories, but also serves as a form of communication with the outside world. The Legacy at the Oaks, a senior health center in Battle Creek, MI, has instituted an art program called “Living Colors” wherein residents can work with volunteer artists to create art and in turn, once again find their voices.

To find out more about the “Living Colors” program, read Art and Alzheimer’s Disease.

artwork by resident at The Legacy at the Oaks