Listening to music can reduce anxiety and revive memories for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. But operating devices that play favourite songs can be challenging for those with the conditions.
“Independent access to music for people with dementia is hard, because with something like a record or CD player, they slowly lose the ability to use it,” says Frazer Seymour, a computer science student at U of G who started programming at 13.
After witnessing both of his grandmothers develop dementia, Seymour helped create AMI (Adaptable Music Interface).
An electronic interface that attaches to an iPad, AMI makes it much easier to play music. Its large buttons and knobs are user-friendly and can be configured to suit the user.