Cognitive Dynamics Hosts Renowned Theologian

Friday, April 6th, 2018

Cognitive Dynamics Foundation, in collaboration with Dementia Friendly Alabama and the Faith United Against Alzheimer’s Coalition, is sponsoring a free lecture, “Building a Dementia Friendly Community Through a Framework of Faith,” featuring Dr. James M. Houston on Thursday, April 26, at 7 p.m. in Beeson Divinity School’s Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel in Birmingham, Alabama.

Dr. Houston, a pupil and friend of C. S. Lewis and a world-renowned scholar in Christian spiritual theology, was also the primary caregiver for his late wife, Rita, who had dementia. He brings this foundation and a most personal perspective into discussion of what the faith community can do to serve families impacted by dementia.

In addition, Dr. Houston will be speaking to a group of students and faculty at the University of Alabama’s Bryant Conference Center on April 27, 2018 at 1 pm on the topic, “Wisdom for the Journey.”

For more information, contact Lynda Everman ldeverman@icloud.com 865-406-6178

Dr. James M. Houston

Bringing Art to Life – Chicago to be Featured at Alzheimer’s Foundation Conference

Monday, October 16th, 2017

Bringing Art to Life – Chicago (BATL-C), an innovative intergenerational expressive arts program for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, is being highlighted at the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Concepts in Care Educational Conference in Chicago on October 19. The program is funded, in part, by a grant from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

A team from BATL-C will present the program from the standpoint of the student director (Angela Ray), neurologist and co-founder of the program (Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN), expressive arts therapist (Allison DeSantis, MA, LCPC) facility administrator (Ann Brennan), and a Chicago-based cognitive neurologist lead faculty (Neelum T. Aggarwal, MD).

BATL-C was piloted in 2016 in collaboration with Chicago Methodist Senior Services and Northside College Preparatory School, with support from High Socks for Hope Foundation.

For more information about BATL-C, please email us at info@cognitivedynamics.org.

Bringing Art to Life Research Presented at IAGG 2017

Friday, July 28th, 2017

The Bringing Art to Life (BATL) Research Team presented an abstract titled “The Effects of an Intergenerational Service Learning Experience on Ageist Attitudes” highlighting outcomes data from University of Alabama Honors students enrolled in UH 300: Art to Life at the 21st IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in San Francisco on July 25, 2017.

UH 300: Art to Life is an Honors service learning class offered at the University of Alabama as part of our foundation’s Bringing Art to Life (BATL) program. Students learn about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, participate in the Virtual Dementia Tour, volunteer at an adult dementia daycare center, participate in mindfulness activities, develop an appreciation for the challenges of caregiving, and learn the tenets of person-centered care. In the experiential part of the course, students are paired with persons living with dementia, and participate in weekly art therapy sessions facilitated by an experienced art therapist. Students develop relationships with their participants, learn their life stories, and create a leather-bound life legacy book using LifeBio.com, presenting this to their participants and their families in a celebratory dinner at the end of the semester.

A research team from the Alabama Research Institute on Aging and the UA Department of Psychology led by Keisha Ivey, MA and Rebecca Allen, PhD has been conducting research since 2015, and the current abstract addresses student data from pre-and post surveys measuring empathy and attitudes toward older adults, persons living with dementia and community service.

Compared with student controls from a psychology of aging course, BATL students exhibited statistically significant improvement in attitudes towards persons living with dementia and toward community service, as well as greater increases in empathy.

Research will be ongoing, and will involve analysis of the program’s impact on participating persons living with dementia and their caregivers.

For more information on Bringing Art to Life, read this Huffington Post article by Angel C. Duncan, MA, MFT-ATR, the Executive Arts Director for Cognitive Dynamics who helped to create the program: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/angel-duncan/bringing-art-to-life-an-i_b_9619446.html

From left to right, Dr. Anne Halli-Tierney, Dr. Rebecca Allen, and Dr. Daniel C. Potts at the 21st IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics

“Do You Know Me Now? Wins Silver Remi Award

Saturday, June 24th, 2017

Do You Know Me Now?, a short documentary about personhood and relationships in Alzheimer’s and other Dementias from Cognitive Dynamics, has won a Silver Remi Award from the Worldfest Houston International Film Festival.

The documentary highlights the lives and stories of two Canadian and two American persons with dementia (Rita Houston, Joan Borrie, Ed Feil and Lester E. Potts, Jr.) and their care partners, Dr. James Houston, Cathie Borrie, Naomi Feil and Ethelda Potts.

The documentary demonstrates how personhood persists despite dementia, and shows ways by which these care partners were able to tap into that personhood and build meaningful relationships and experience joy in the moment.

The documentary will eventually be made available for purchase and download.  Please watch future news posts from our website for further information.

Lester Potts’ Art Now Available on LestersLegacy.com

Sunday, June 18th, 2017

The watercolor art of Lester E. Potts, Jr., an artist with Alzheimer’s disease, is now available for purchase at http://www.lesterslegacy.com/.

Lester, a rural Alabama saw miller, had never painted until after the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Lester’s newly-found creativity improved his quality of life and had many other benefits. His art has been shown from Beverly Hills to Paris, has been the subject of research, and appears in articles, textbooks, devotional books and documentaries.

Lester’s art has been used as a tool of engagement and reminiscence between care givers and persons with dementia. 

Prints of Lester’s art are available in different sizes on the http://www.lesterslegacy.com/ website.  In addition, 5 styles of greeting cards are available, with short verses composed by Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN on the back covers of each.

If you are not interested in purchasing, you may simply peruse the beautiful art that appears on the page.

Proceeds from the sale of all products appearing on http://www.lesterslegacy.com/ go toward supporting the mission and programs of Cognitive Dynamics

Potts and Duncan to speak at Re-Imagine Dementia Conference

Sunday, June 18th, 2017

Cognitive Dynamics Founder and President, Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN, and Executive Arts Director, Angel C. Duncan, MA, MFT-ATR will co-present at the Re-Imagine Life With Dementia Conference in Atlanta, GA on July 27, 2017. 

The conference is sponsored by the Dementia Action Alliance, and brings together the diverse dementia community for inspiring discussions, learning experiences, and engaging interactions.

Potts and Duncan will highlight Bringing Art to Life, an innovative program developed in collaboration with the University of Alabama Honors College which brings art therapy and life story preservation to persons with Alzheimer’s disease and others causes of dementia  and their caregivers.

Cognitive Dynamics and UA to Host Art Gala

Friday, April 8th, 2016

To all former students & participants in the Art to Life program at the University of Alabama Honors College:

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE: APRIL 19, 2016 – 6 to 8 pm
Ferguson Center Gallery on the UA campus
751 Campus Drive West, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404

Art to Life: A Celebration – A Short Film

Sunday, April 3rd, 2016

This video by Lauren Musgrove documents a celebratory dinner held on 12/8/2015 for the University of Alabama Honors College service learning course “Art to Life,” developed by Cognitive Dynamics Foundation in collaboration with the University. The course pairs undergraduate students of diverse majors with persons who have Alzheimer’s disease or other causes of dementia in an empathy and relationship-building art therapy, reminiscence and storytelling experience. To honor their participants, students host an end-of-semester gala at which leather-bound legacy books from LifeBio.com are presented to the participants and their families. These books contain student letters, poetry, participant art and life story material. Students also give the participants the art they have created over the semester, and share stories and words of thanks to honor and validate the personhood of their new friends.

Click on the link below to watch the 6 minute video.

Art to Life: A Celebration

Bringing Art to Life Program Featured in Mosaic Magazine

Monday, February 15th, 2016

University of Alabama Honors College Mosaic Magazine has published an article by Rachel Wilburn titled “A New Beginning.” The article highlights Cognitive Dynamics Foundation’s Bringing Art to Life program, offered as an undergraduate service learning course (UH 300: Art to Life).

You may read the article beginning on page 2 at this link:
A New Beginning

Marley and Potts Publish “Finding Joy in Alzheimer’s: New Hope for Caregivers”

Tuesday, January 26th, 2016

Here is an excerpt from  the back cover of the book: “Here’s a hope-filled book about Alzheimer’s caregiving. It was written by Marie Marley, PhD – a well-known author on dementia issues – and neurologist Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN, both experts on caregiving. With a Foreword by Maria Shriver, this groundbreaking volume will give you hope in the midst of the darkness of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. You can come to terms with your loved one’s condition and free yourself to experience joyous interactions. Part I covers a variety of issues, such as the authors’ belief that people with Alzheimer’s can still enjoy life, how to overcome denial, five especially difficult situations, the role of grief on the journey to acceptance, and letting go of resentment through making peace with God. In Part II the authors provide 55 helpful tips for visiting people with Alzheimer’s. Part III consists of numerous short stories illustrating the authors’ joyous interactions with their loved ones. The stories will warm your heart and light your way along the path to achieving true joy.”