“The best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.” ~Andy Rooney
As young girls from East St. Paul, my sisters and I had very little parental supervision. In fact, all of my childhood friends had parents who worked long hours and allowed us rascals to roam the neighborhood, free and wild. I honestly think the only reason any of us survived into adulthood was because of the elders who lived on our block. They taught us to ride bikes, to perform first aid, to do repairs. They showed us the value of recycling, gardening, crocheting, laughing, and respecting one another on all occasions. It is so important for us, as a society, to take care of our older people, and to do whatever we can to keep them happy and in their homes throughout their final years of life. As it turns out, I’d like to be one of those old people someday too – and I hope to be treated and cared for in the best way possible.
This article was featured in MPR over the weekend:
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/03/20/alzheimers-at-school
The author does a great job of highlighting the need for schools to integrate dementia and AD education into their curriculums as our society continues to rapidly age. With increasing frequency, children will be impacted as their loved elders lose their memories and personalities; it certainly seems prudent to open these discussions in our schools (thanks for sharing this story, Beth).
Dementia can rob a person of how they have envisioned their life growing old. So often, people eventually enter nursing home or a skilled nursing facility where they’re treated for behavioral problems with side-effect ridden medication. Important work is being done to develop nonpharmacologic interventions for persons with dementia. It is difficult (or sometimes even impossible) to design truly rigorous studies for this kind of intervention. But these developments are moving forward, and they are inspiring.
This last weekend I attended Meeting of the Minds, where I learned about Scripted-IMPROVTM. The Scripted-IMPROVTM intervention was designed to address The Four A’s of Alzheimer’s: Anxiety, Agitation, Aggression, and Apathy. Funded by the NIA and NIH, and conducted by the Hearthstone Institute, it was the largest Phase 2 Clinical Trial of a major non-drug intervention for Alzheimer’s and dementia. I won’t get into too much detail, but the study found statistically significant increases in engagement and quality of life measures, as well as a decrease in depression measures. Results also indicated a decrease in appearance of The Four A’s. To learn more, and watch videos, visit the website: http://scriptedimprov.com/videos/