Gardens Help Alzheimer's Patients

July 9 -- Elizabeth Brawley was set to pursue her fortune as an interior designer for the rich and famous.Then her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and confined to a nursing home. That was 20 years ago, and her life and work since then has taken a radically different course.

“I had never been in a nursing home before then. When it became necessary to put my mother in a home I was stunned by what I saw,” she said.

What Brawley saw, in a mid-’s80s nursing home, were aging adults with little chance to get outside, often staring at the same painting on the wall, the same view through a window or the television. Since then, she has devoted her professional life to “designing for Alzheimer’s” — everything from handrails and chairs to lights and entire rooms that fit the needs of adults with dementia, a fatal condition most commonly caused by Alzheimer’s.

Her most recent project is the American Landscape Society of America Alzheimer’s Garden Project — a series of nine gardens designed to accommodate those with Alzheimer’s.

“We know that just getting outside is good for you. For Alzheimer’s patients it can help reduce anxiety, improve sleep patterns and give the caregiver a break,” says Jack Carman, a landscape architect who is Brawley's partner in the garden project.

First World Alzheimer's Congress

Carman and Brawley will make a presentation on the therapeutic benefits of Alzheimer’s memory gardens at the first World Alzheimer’s Congress in Washington D.C., which begins today and runs through July 18.

With 4,500 researchers, physicians and caregivers from the United States, Canada and around the world attending, the Congress is one of Carman and Brawley’s best opportunities yet to encourage a renewed focus on quality of life overall rather than just the quality of medical care.

The Congress is the first time the world’s three major Alzheimer’s conferences have come together at one time to share their research and ideas. In the past, each conference would meet separately and at different times of year. The lack of communication often meant wasted resources as scientists duplicated the same research in different countries.