In this blogpost, Jenny Hillman (Senior Manager – ALSPD) reflects on learning from a staff and student development session on music and dementia. This event was delivered in partnership between ALSPD at the Open University and the Scottish charity ‘Playlist for Life.’ You can read about the charity here: https://www.playlistforlife.org.uk/
This week, I attended a development session organised by colleagues in ALSPD and facilitated by Mary McDougall from the Scottish Charity of the Year ‘Playlist for Life.’ As a team, we originally imagined that we would open-up this event to staff and students working in and/or studying health and caring-related subjects. However, we quickly realised that dementia is something which either has, or will, affect most of us.
The research shows that 1 in 3 of us will be diagnosed with dementia in our lifetime (Alzheimer’s Society, 2024). Dementia mostly affects those over the age of 65 but there are also 42,000 young people in the UK living with the condition (Playlist for Life, 2024). The stark reality is that dementia is endemic. Over one million people in the UK will have a dementia diagnosis by 2025 (Dementia UK, 2024). Many more of us will know someone or provide care for a family member or friend with dementia.
Recognising this, and exploring how it has already affected or could potentially affect our personal and professional lives, we decided to extend a wider invitation to learn about dementia to all OU staff and students.
Playlist for Life
We learned about the science in the relationship between music and dementia from Mary McDougall from the charity, Playlist for Life. Mary talked movingly and expertly about the aim of the charity which is to support those living with dementia to have access to a playlist of personal meaningful music, and for everyone who loves or cares for them to know how to use it. She addressed questions around technology, the ethics of managing its use, and offered a balanced and measured view of the varying levels of impact music can have upon the different types and stages of dementia. We heard stories curated by Playlist for Life and told by those who had experience of using music as part of their own care, or their family member’s care, and the power that it has on their health.
Reflections
As I was reflecting on the session and trying in vain to find the words to capture how deeply the session resonated with so many of us there, I struggled. I didn’t want to reduce the learning that I experienced, and sensed in others, to something reminiscent of a pithy ‘inspirational quote’ you might see about music emblazoned on a tea towel, mug or A4 framed print.
“Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words” ― Robert G. Ingersoll
“My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary” ― Martin Luther
Many of us who work as Educational Developers, in Learning and Development teams, or as staff involved in teaching and learning, recognise the power of storytelling for learning. Fundamentally, what I think the session offered to me that was most impactful was the chance to hear stories and start to think about my own, and those of my loved ones.
For further information about this event, please contact the AL Support and Professional Development Team at alspd-team@open.ac.uk.
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