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K-State Today

Division of Communications and Marketing
Kansas State University
128 Dole Hall
1525 Mid-Campus Drive North
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-2535
vpcm@k-state.edu

October 17, 2019

K-State's Center on Aging to host Personhood and Dementia workshop

Submitted by Katie Sigman

Linda Zimmer and poodle Toby

The K-State Center on Aging in the College of Health and Human Sciences will present its annual event, Personhood and Dementia, on Thursday, Nov. 7. The event will be in the Hartford Room at the Bluemont Hotel with sessions from 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m.

Linda Zimmer, creative arts specialist and her therapy poodle, Toby, are the guests for the day. When her mother began showing signs of dementia Zimmer used her professional background as a puppeteer on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" to infuse music, art and humor into the lives of residents in dementia care. Zimmer will share her "Playful Protocol," which focuses on creating joy through connections with the arts and our animal friends. Guests will acquire skills to improve connection and quality of life for people with dementia and their care partners.

Guests will also have the opportunity to meet local working dogs and their human companions and learn how animals in the Manhattan area are spreading joy and enhancing connections.

The morning and afternoon sessions are unique and will feature different programming and information, so guests are encouraged to attend both sessions. There is no registration required for this event and it is free and open to the public. For more information on Personhood and Dementia, visit hhs.k-state.edu/aging/outreach/personhood-dementia/.