Music Therapy with Apex Harmony Lodge was a service I signed up for knowing it would be a challenge for me. I wanted a lasting experience with service, and figured stepping out of my comfort zone would give me that. Working with dementia patients was something I had not even the slightest experience in—I was much more comfortable working with children, or in areas of service concerning the environment. Learning that music therapy was especially competent in working with dementia patients was fascinating—music that a patient recognises could temporarily bring back cognitive function or memories. I thought the impact of such a service may be instantaneous but rewarding, as the effects of my actions are seen immediately and directly.

There were several things I learnt about dementia in general, especially with my initial lack of knowledge on the subject. Initially learning about dementia as a chronic disorder in a classroom with other students in the service didn’t prepare me for the experience of actual interaction—I wasn’t nervous at all, and thought myself to be ready. This led to my disappointment after the first session in which I met a resident at the lodge and the session didn’t go as smoothly as expected.

The communication barrier I felt made me spontaneously feel panicked—I was speaking to him in my third language that I had very little confidence in, and my biggest area of concern was when I couldn’t understand what he was saying back. I knew verbal communication would be extremely important between us as he was visually impaired, but this became an area of worry after I figured my language ability wasn’t advanced enough to understand him through his slur. This challenge shadowed over the session, even knowing the main purpose of me being there was for music therapy.

I do think I did try to constantly give him music to listen to, in order to find out which songs he possibly knew of. There was a moment during one of the several songs I played in which he sang along to the lyrics for a short few seconds—I knew this was extremely significant. However, my lack of confidence in speaking to him made the moment temporary and less meaningful than it could’ve been. What disappointed me the most was that I didn’t take any actions to overcome this challenge. Nonetheless, I hope I can bring back a positive outlook on self improvement, as I have only attended one session, and there is still the rest of the year to create more meaningful interactions.