Latest News
The “Art to Life” Initiative
”Art to Life” is a first-of-its-kind initiative to improve the quality of life of Alzheimer’s patients in rural Alabama through the expressive arts therapies. In partnership with the University of Alabama Honors College and Sewing Seeds of Hope, a non-profit foundation in Perry County Alabama, Cognitive Dynamics Foundation seeks to facilitate the creation and preservation of the life stories of Alzheimer’s patients living in Alabama’s impoverished “Black belt” region (named so because of the richness of the soil from the area). This region is steeped in history and is underserved medically, economically, culturally, etc. Through art therapy, music therapy and reminiscence, with sessions documented on film, it is hoped that the life stories of each patient can be teased out and preserved for posterity, as a family keepsake, and to be used as ongoing therapy for the patient. Furthermore, dementia education will be given to the families of these patients. Students involved in the course will be given education on dementia and care giving, expressive arts therapies, life story elicitation, etc. At the end of the course a showcase is planned for the families and patients, community and media to display the results. This initiative is planned to be ongoing, so that all regions of the Black belt may eventually be reached. Grants and other funding opportunities are being sought. Those interested in supporting the initiative financially are urged to donate by clicking the link on our home page.
Dr. Potts Appears on Alzheimer’s Telethon
The Together for Care Telethon, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America and aired nationally on NBC, featured Caring Days Adult Daycare in Tuscaloosa, as well as Cognitive Dynamics President Dr. Daniel Potts. See the Telethon at the link below:
http://www.alzfdn.org/telethon/telethon_webcast.html
Support Caring Days
Please remember to lend your support for Caring Days Adult Day Center, the longest-running dementia daycare center in Alabama and a national model for such centers. Caring Days was recently selected as one of only two centers of its kind in the nation to be highlighted on the Together For Care Telethon, a collaboration between the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America and NBC, which will air in major media markets on December 4th.
Caring Days is currently involved in a capital campaign to raise funds for a much-needed new building which will double its capacity for clients to 50. It will be a state-of-the-art facility in terms of effectivenes of design for this clientelle.
Caring Days is where Lester Potts discovered his artistic abilities.
Please consider making a donation to this important cause. The Caring Days website is www.caringdays.org.
Cognitive Dynamics Press Release Regarding Art Gala
Cognitive Dynamics Art Gala Press Release
Gala Art Event Photos
Cognitive Dynamics Advisory Board member Dr. Meril Platzer, David Streets, Barbara Lazaroff and Cognitive Dynamics President Dr. Daniel Potts
Gala Art Event Photos
David Streets, Cognitive Dynamics Secretary Robert Montgomery, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, and Cognitive Dynamics President Dr. Daniel Potts
Gala Art Gallery Showing a Huge Success!
Cognitive Dynamics President Dr. Daniel Potts, Advisory Board member Dr. Meril Platzer, and Mrs. Lester Potts
Cognitive Dynamics Foundation wishes to thank Dr. Meril Platzer, without whose idea and grassroots advocacy efforts this event would not have taken place. In addition we wish to thank David Streets and Barbara Lazaroff, as well as the American Academy of Neurology and our corporate sponsors.
It is our hope that we will be able to garner support for our first initiative, “Art to Life”, in partnership with the University of Alabama Honors College. This initiative will use expressive arts therapies to tease out the life stories of impoverished Alzheimer’s patients in the Blackbelt region of Alabama, and preserve the stories as therapy for the patients, keepsakes for the familes, and as a national treasure. There will be more posts forthcoming about this important project!
The link to a press relase about the event is here: http://www.prlog.org/11057664
Painting in Twilight: An Artist’s Escape from Alzheimer’s
Cognitive Dynamics, sponsored in part by the American Academy of Neurology, is honored to display the Alzheimer’s watercolor art of Lester Potts at the David Streets Galleries in Beverly Hills on November 5th at 7 pm.
Welcome to Cognitive Dynamics
Welcome to Cognitive Dynamics, a new foundation dedicated to fostering hope and human dignity and improving quality of life!
We are thankful to launch this site on the 3rd anniversary of the death of Lester E. Potts, Jr., my father. Lester’s body and mind succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease, but his art and inspiration live on in the spirit of our foundation.
Take a look around the site and learn of our mission to help the cognitively-impaired primarily through the expressive arts.
Please contact us! We welcome your ideas. We seek to collaborate in any way possible with individuals and organizations with a similar mission.
Together, help us Bring Art to Life!
Daniel C. Potts, M.D.
Our Mission
To improve the quality of life of persons with cognitive disorders (such as Alzheimer’s disease) and their caregivers through education, research, and support of innovative care models which promote human dignity, especially therapies employing the expressive arts and storytelling.
For more information about Cognitive Dynamics and what we do please contact us.