Newswise — Sounds like crickets chirping and the taste of warm buckwheat pancakes can spark the senses of people with dementia — a fact faculty and students at West Virginia University used to develop a way for those people to experience parts of their cultural past and to relieve stress for their caregivers.
“Focusing on activities for people with cognitive impairment on something culturally based has the potential to be more effective than activities without a cultural connection,” said Professor of Social Work Kristina Hash, WVU’s 2021 Faculty Excellence in Community Engagement Award recipient. “If your present is a place you don’t recognize all the time and is confusing and upsetting, but your past is a pleasant place, we can bring the past into the present and make that a better, less agitating place for them.”
Drawing upon psychology, social…
