LAKELAND, Fla. — A Polk County art program helps people with Alzheimer’s.
Dennis Krupinski has all the time been inventive. He labored as a painter for Disney for 25 years earlier than retiring.
“I was having trouble doing my job and remembering the tools that I need to go out to do my job,” Krupinski stated.
The 55-year-old was identified with early onset dementia 9 years in the past.
“I have cognitive issues, so the more I do other things, just explore things and keep busy is very important,” he stated.
The Art Connects ALZ program permits Krupinski to maintain his thoughts busy by tapping into his inventive facet.
The free program held by the Alzheimer’s Association and Polk Museum of Art is designed for people within the early levels of dementia. Participants get to create and admire art and its numerous kinds, stimulating their cognitive processes.
“For me, it’s an escape for your mind to go other places,” Krupinski stated.
Research means that creative engagement might assist to ease frequent behavioral signs of dementia, together with nervousness and melancholy, and presumably assist stimulate reminiscence.
Art Connects ALZ program facilitator Tinia Clark stated the program additionally acts as a catalyst for constant socialization.
“It gets them out of facilities and out of being homebound and gives them an opportunity to be in the regular world, where they can look at things and have an opinion and there’s not really a right or wrong,” Clark stated.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, greater than 580,000 Floridians live with Alzheimer’s, making applications like Art Connects ALZ an essential lifeline for a lot of.