Reaching past dementia with music therapy

“There’s a lot of different ways they express themselves via music,” said Sullivan, who joined the Waveny Care Center staff in April. First and foremost, Sullivan said, he’s a musician. “I started playing saxophone when I was 8 years old in grade school and kind of took to it from there, eventually adding in things like guitar and piano,” Sullivan said. “Music first, for sure.”

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He has played jazz sax in performances, and has been in a few bands. He recorded some, but most of that stopped in college. At first he wanted to be a music teacher. “You identify growing up with the music faculty in your school,” Sullivan said. “I wanted to be like them.” But as he earned his associate’s degree at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y., “I realized I just didn’t have an interest in working in a school setting and music education wasn’t for me.” Working toward his bachelor’s degree, Sullivan discovered the field of music therapy.

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Read the full story here: https://www.ncadvertiser.com/news/article/Reaching-past-dementia-with-music-therapy-15564006.php

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