In the early ’90s, when Chappaqua resident Linda Levine Madori, PhD, was providing art therapy to residents at the Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale, she made some intriguing observations: The brain is like a muscle—either use it (by age 50 to 60), or begin to lose it. From her observations and further research, Madori crafted a new methodology to treat Alzheimer’s patients who have already begun to exhibit mild-to-moderate symptoms. Dubbed the TTAP (Therapeutic Thematic Arts Programming) Method, Madori’s multimodal approach uses the creative arts to optimally stimulate all parts of the brain and slow the progression of cognitive impairment.
Her approach is well timed: The number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s is on track to swell to more than 20 million by 2050, according to the American Alzheimer’s Association. “We have been pouring all of this money into pharmaceutical approaches [for treating Alzheimer’s] and have come up with basically nothing to show for it,” Madori says.
Today, Madori’s TTAP Method is being used in assisted-living facilities, nursing homes, hospitals, geriatric centers, and rehab facilities nationwide—including several in Westchester.
