“Just like a picture is worth a thousand words, all it takes is one song to bring back a thousand memories.” 

Nadine Kodysz picks up her violin and plays the tune to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Or maybe it’s the alphabet song. Or maybe “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,” depending on which version of the tune you remember best. 

Playing familiar melodies with many sources of origin is how Kodysz reaches listeners as a facilitator of music programming with the Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. 

Kodysz is one of several facilitators invited this year to the Cleveland Public Library’s Memory Cafe, a recurring event for seniors experiencing memory loss and their caregivers. The events cover different topics related to memory and care management.   

“The reason why music is so important to people with memory issues is the part of the brain that recognizes response to music never deteriorates,” explained John Piche, a librarian and facilitator with the Cleveland Heights Public Library, which hosts a Memory Disco at its Noble Road branch for seniors experiencing dementia.  

Music triggers activities in the brain from the cerebellum in the back to the prefrontal cortex, stirring emotions and memories. The prefrontal cortex is where we get “the chills” from listening to music. 

Piche talked about a woman who had attended last year’s Dementia Week at CHPL with her daughter and wasn’t interested in engaging. “She wasn’t doing anything that was interacting with people, wouldn’t make eye contact, very closed off. [Her daughter] put the headphones on her, and as soon as the music started, she just immediately perked up and was engaging and started moving around and dancing to the music with her daughter. One of my coworkers said it was the most moving thing she’d ever, ever seen, because the woman, just for that brief amount of time, you know, was back,” Piche said. “Aware of everything that was going on.”

The Cleveland Public Library and Cleveland Heights Public Library host regular events at several of their branches for seniors experiencing memory loss. 

Events catering specifically to seniors with memory loss are meant to provide both patients and their caregivers a supportive, understanding environment.  

“Isolation is the worst thing that you can do,” explained Kodysz. “And when you have someone in your family that, you know, has some [aggressive or unusual] behaviors, they have on two hats and three sweaters and its 80 degrees out or something, and you’re embarrassed, and you say, ‘Well, yeah, how can I take [them out in public]?’ It’s OK. We get it. We have one fella in there now, he acts so silly. And he is so cute and so funny, you know. But his wife, you can just see her rolling her eyes.“

Kodysz said the volunteers are ready for anything. “So somebody has an accident in the middle of the program or whatever, somebody’s acting silly. We have these kind volunteers that try to assist with that.” 

Danielle Konkoly manages all the senior programming for the Cleveland Public Library. She said the library will host several more senior events throughout the year, including an art class that repurposes items from a person’s past, and a golden gala in September to explore resources available to seniors through the library and the wider community.    

The next Memory Cafe at the Cleveland Public Library is Thursday, May 22, at the West Park branch. Registration is required. 

Cleveland Heights Public Library will host a series of events for Dementia Week, May 12-15,  focusing on caregiver support and planning. 

“Most of the programs are geared towards people who are either living with an early diagnosis or people who are living with a loved one who have a diagnosis. And we’ve partnered with a Florida university group that focuses on African-American caregivers,” Piche said. “We’ve also, this year, added the Cuyahoga County Division of Senior and Adult Services. They’re going to be doing an in-depth program on what Adult Protective Services looks like, how it works, and what would happen if you see someone who maybe is in distress or in need that you would like to have someone checking on. So I think that’s an important program that we’ve introduced this year.”