November/December 2002 Alternative Health
HeART Connections with Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patients

by Sally Morgan-Nelson

"What is seen on the outside, is a mask on the soul, for if one looks deeper, they will unlock the true face," Lindsay Nelson, age 11.

My daughter Lindsay says it well, unlocking the "true face" is what "Fern’s Fronds" cards and framed prints are all about. Alzheimer’s and dementia (AD) patients can eventually experience a loss of verbal language skills, and still reach out to say, "I need love, touch, communication, and to feel worthwhile, I’m still a human being; remember me."

My mother, a former artist with AD, inspired me to establish Roselyn Productions and Fern’s Fronds cards – a nonprofit organization dedicated to exploring artistic expression as therapy and as a means of communication with Alzheimer’s patients, while raising money for research for a cure for the disease. Although it is our objective to help raise public awareness of valuable breakthroughs with this disease, we also want to show how powerful and healing the artistic process is for people who still have an important and useful voice in our communities. Research has shown that new connections in the brain can be made through the art process. It is so rewarding to watch self confidence and self satisfaction grow as artists use a variety of media to express feelings of excitement, happiness, sadness, anger, and love.

We are interested in bringing our art therapy healing sessions to any adult assisted living, Foster care, private home, or nursing home setting. Our valuable art sessions include one on one personalized attention within a group setting.

For more information about Roselyn Productions, and Fern’s Fronds art cards created by patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia-related diseases, please visit our website at www.fernsfronds.org, or call 503-657-5984. Proceeds go towards research to find a cure for Alzheimer’s and dementia related diseases.