Food for Thought

Throughout my experience in running these groups, I've noticed the difficulty in quantifying the results. I look back at the groups and the activities and think, So what? What are the participants getting out of these experiences? The answer is, I'm still not really sure. All I can do is to try and record my observations to the best of my ability and to make note of any patterns or tendencies I see. I don't have any statistical data to summarize these results, but I don't think it matters. Recording the participants' tendencies usually provides sufficient supporting evidence for my thesis: Older persons with communication difficulties will benefit from art therapy more readily than will "normally-aging" individuals. I think that idea has become pretty clear through all of this.

Here are my conclusive, qualitative data so far:

1. Individuals with dementia and CVA tend to participate more readily in the projects than do normally-aging people.
2. Among all three groups, participants with CVA tend to report a more positive experience most often.
3. Normally-aging people tend to think more about the product of the activity, and therefore have a harder time considering its process than individuals with dementia or CVA.
4. Art groups with normally-aging individuals and CVA patients tend to facilitate conversation and commonality among the participants.
5. In all three groups, music is a strong catalyst for participation.