Tejali Kunte, Head of Psychology, PDMDS (Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Society), talks about their unique initiative ‘PDMDS Encourages Talent’ which provided a platform for Persons with Parkinson’s to showcase their talents and also boost their confidence in a big way.
What was the main vision behind the initiative? Was it just motivational?
-Creative arts like dance, music, poetry, art and craft have tremendous therapeutic effects on the symptoms of Parkinson’s. At PDMDS, we conduct various sessions using creative arts to promote physical and mental well-being of People with Parkinson’s (PwPs). We have noticed that many PwPs are extremely talented at these arts but some of them have stopped indulging in art activities due to Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Some PwPs have also lost confidence in pursuing their hobbies and talents whereas some may feel it’s redundant to participate in art and craft activities at an old age.
PDMDS aims at promoting awareness about PD using various innovative ways. The campaign of ‘PDMDS Encourages Talent’ was started as an attempt to raise awareness about PD and provide a platform for PwPs’ to showcase their talents. This campaign was also aimed at making people aware that, ‘Parkinson’s Disease is not about disability but it’s also an opportunity to celebrate your abilities and talents’. We wanted to let PwPs know that, ‘don’t give up on your talents and leisure activities after PD; You can still do it and excel at it!’
How did you decide on the segments?
When we announced about this campaign as a part of ‘World Parkinson’s awareness month’ in April 2020, various PwPs enthusiastically came forward and submitted their entries for this campaign. Then we contacted each of them personally to know more about them, get their quote and understand how these arts activities have helped them with PD. We decided on the segments based on various categories of creative arts such as- Dance, Music, Art, Craft, Stitching, Crochet-making, etc. based on the entries, to showcase the diversity of talents among PwPs.
How was the response?
The response has been overwhelming!! We received entries from PwPs from different parts of the country like Mumbai, Gujarat, Kolhapur, Cochin, etc. showcasing their talents with various creative and performing arts. What started as a campaign for ‘World Parkinson’s awareness month’ in April has now turned into an on-going activity where we post a PwP’s talent video/photo or audio every week. We have posted talents of more than 25 PwPs for the #PDMDSEncouragesTalent campaign till date.
How was the programme executed?
The programme has been executed Online using PDMDS social media handles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter to reach out to more people and spread the awareness about PD to diverse population. The poster for this campaign was made and it was circulated on whatsapp and social media to encourage people to participate. When we got the entries from participants, PDMDS members contacted each one of them individually to know about the person better, get their views and quotes on how their talent helped them with PD and once the post was approved with consent of PwPs and their caregivers, we uploaded it on PDMDS social media handles. We followed this process for each Talent campaign post.
How has it helped the participants?
Every PwP has a unique story to tell and they are finding a creative medium to express it using art, music, dance, etc. Along with their battle with PD, their talents also highlight their triumph over many negative feelings often experienced by PwPs like fear of performing, shame and embarrassment, low self-esteem, etc. It has helped the participants immensely to boost their confidence level, continue with their activities of interest even after PD, showcase their hidden talents and prove that ‘Parkinson’s cannot stop them from oursuing their hobbies’. Their family members and friends also joined in motivating them and it helped some PwPs to kick-start the process of indulging in art activities which they had stopped or never done before. Other PwPs also got inspired looking at the talents of their fellow PDMDS group members and got motivated to participate in the campaign. Overall this campaign helped PwPs to de-stress themselves, keep them productively occupied during the time of Lockdown, and ensuring physical and mental well-being as they could reap the therapeutic benefits of creative art activities using their talents and interest.
