Sabrina's Proposal

Service-Learning Proposal

Population

Older adults with dementia diagnoses

Age Group

65 and older

Target Audience

Community members receiving services from the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky

Description of Project

For my service-learning project, I would like to work with the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging for their Brain Health Academy video project. For this project, various community members and professionals are being filmed doing engaging activities such as gardening, cooking, and arts-based activities for a video series to be distributed to older adults at varying stages of dementia. The goal of these videos is to provide care partners with a resource to use with their loved ones to provide cognitive stimulation and improve their quality of life. My contributions could include providing music therapy interventions to be filmed, providing feedback on the footage, assisting with presenting a sample video to a focus group, or contributing other music-based activities that fit with the needs of the clients as I learn more. 

Rationale

Dementia is one disease and disability that is often stigmatized and overlooked by society. Often, communities are not set up to accommodate the needs of those with dementia and their families, and there may be a lack of services for folks at certain levels of the disease progression. Due to the prevalence of dementia, it is vital to engage in work that supports the needs of those with this diagnosis, learn about care partner’s needs, and offer information to communities about what they can do to better support their loved ones who are experiencing cognitive decline due to dementia. By both learning about such needs and  helping to create videos as a part of the Brain Health Academy, I will be able to learn from the expertise of the faculty and staff of the Sanders-Brown Center to understand how I can leverage my abilities to provide engaging and cognitively appropriate music interventions for them to film for a virtual resource. Some of the course objectives that this project relates to include “2. demonstrate foundational knowledge regarding music and sociocultural aspects of disability, special education, Universal Design for Learning, and Social Emotional Learning” as this knowledge will be demonstrated by my designing and selecting appropriate music interventions as well as “4. apply concepts regarding disability, accessibility, inclusivity, age-appropriateness, Universal Design for Learning, Social Emotional Learning, and other course concepts to music-based activities, as is appropriate to your professional training and scope of practice” as the creation of the videos will necessitate having a strong understanding of how to design music activities using the principles of UDL. 

Prior Experience

I completed my internship at a continuing-care retirement community which taught me a great deal about how to formulate effective interventions for older adults with dementia. On a weekly basis, I led at least four groups where most or all of the participants had some type of dementia diagnosis. Additionally, as a music therapy student, I had the opportunity to complete a practicum experience at a memory care facility and plan weekly cognitively appropriate music experiences for this population. 

Potential Experts to Consult

Dr. Reschke-Hernandez

Maranda Brooks, Sanders-Brown Center on Aging