ITAS Podcast Season 4, Ep.5
I hope you remember S3 E6 with Elizabeth Rohrbaugh. Among other things, she was talking about her work with the OMA program (Opening Minds Through Art) at Miami University, OH. OMA enables people with dementia to assume new roles as artists and teachers and leave a legacy of beautiful artwork.
I knew then that this program is worth a whole separate episode! So here we are with Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and a founder of the OMA program Elizabeth “Like” Lokon.
About OMA
OMA was founded by Dr. Elizabeth “Like” Lokon in 2007 and is grounded in person-centered care principles. It is headquartered at Scripps Gerontology Center, an Ohio Center of Excellence at Miami University. People with dementia (artists) are paired with volunteers (students, families, caregivers) who are trained to rely on imagination instead of memory and focus on remaining strengths instead of lost skills.
OMA enables people with dementia to assume new roles as artists and teachers and leave a legacy of beautiful artwork. OMA has been widely replicated.
Links and references
Official website: scrippsoma.org
OMA facilitator training: scrippsoma.org/fully-online-training
Free, online training for caregivers of people living with dementia: caregiving.scrippsoma.org
OMA art gallery: scrippsoma.org/about/oma-art-gallery
Shop OMA art: redbubble.com/people/OMA-Art
Donate to the OMA program
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