ORLANDO, Fla. – This weekend, those with memory impairments or any other neurological impairment, like Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, can experience a free program at the Orlando Museum of Art with their caregivers.
The goal is to provide an expressive outlet and an opportunity for adult discussions.
Recommended Videos
The program is called Art’s The Spark. There’s a similar program in New York, but the museum said this is the only one of its kind in Central Florida.
Jan Clanton is the Associate Curator at Orlando Museum of Art. She created the Art’s the Spark program and is still the teacher for it.
“Art’s the Spark was initially funded by the Winter Park Health Foundation in the 1990s, to offer support programs to “healthy” home-bound caregivers. At the time, those suffering from memory impairment had a variety of support programs and organizations. The impairment could be from stroke, Parkinson’s disease, or early Alzheimer’s disease. Their dedicated caregivers had no support or respite from their 24-hour caregiving,” said Clanton.
The program provides a safe environment for those with memory loss, and it opens the door for them to explore their imagination.
“Those with memory impairment or some other neurological impairments often are fearful of talking in public (forgetting proper vocabulary) and/or uncomfortable in new places. It limits participation in social gatherings for both the one diagnosed and the healthy caregiver,” Clanton said.
The 90-minute program offers a 45-minute tour around the museum. The tour allows them to have a discussion and build self-confidence and redevelop vocabulary.
“With art, there are no wrong answers, so enlightenment comes from all! They also get to exercise their creativity in the studio and use those hands and brains that sometimes get rusty,” Clanton explained.
During that 45 minutes of studio time, their caregivers get a chance to connect with other caregivers, which gives them a sense of community.
“Their healthy caregivers – wives, husbands, grandchildren, aids – get to find out about new doctors, programs, or just talk about the best thing that happened in the past month,” said Clanton.
“The caregivers welcome the time with refreshments to connect to others dealing with similar issues and offer support and suggestions to handle day-to-day hurdles.”
If you’re unable to make it to the event this Saturday, the next dates are on September 7 and October 12.
Orlando Museum of Art also offers a free program for adults and kids with developmental and learning disabilities, as well as those on the autism spectrum. It’s called Creative Connections, and the next free event for that is this Sunday.
Pre-registration for both events is required. Call 407-896-4231 ext. 262 or email education@omart.org to register.