Posted 05/03/2010
The BBC Brain Training Study
Let's flip it around
By Laurie Orlov
The results are clear," said Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist at the Medical Research Council: "Statistically, there are no significant differences between the improvements seen in participants who played our brain-training games, and those who just went on the Internet for the same length of time."
Read More >>Posted 12/23/2009
What to Notice About Your Parents’ Aging
Facing the future
By Juile Hall
Many of us will gather with close family at Christmas and/or New Year’s. You may want to observe your parents, or other close relatives, and note any new signs of the aging process. Some of these signs, if occurring infrequently, are no cause for panic; however, they could mean that your parents need to have someone check on them daily or consider assisted living. Read More >>
Posted 11/30/2009
It’s a Miracle!
Enjoy those moments of “presence”
By Sara Myers
For the past couple of months, I have seen my mom decline physically and cognitively. She has lost weight and seems almost unresponsive to voice. My family and I ate Thanksgiving dinner at her assisted living, and though she ate rather continually, she was silent and noncommunicative. I thought it was getting closer to the end. Read More >>
Posted 11/30/2009
Elder Abuse: Sexual
The real motive is power and control
By Deborah Hoskins, JD, CFP
Sexual abuse is any sexual contact without consent of both people. Sexual abuse may also include indecent exposure, sexual harassment, incest, and unwanted viewing of pornography. State laws may differ in the details, but all jurisdictions hold that only persons with mental capacity can give consent to sexual conduct. Severe mental illness or dementia would preclude consent in most cases. Read More >>
Posted 11/16/2009
A Good Enough Daughter’s Tips for Enjoying the Holiday Season
Making things as easy and stress free as possible
By Sara Myers
Tips to enjoy the season with your old, frail, possibly demented family member are easy to find on the Internet. Just type “ caregiver holiday tips” into your search engine, and a long list of Web site options will be displayed on your screen.
While I have tremendous respect for anyone who develops a holiday tip list, I find that many of those tips don’t apply to my situation. My mother lives in a dementia-oriented assisted living center in Seattle and may not have far to go. Read More >>
While I have tremendous respect for anyone who develops a holiday tip list, I find that many of those tips don’t apply to my situation. My mother lives in a dementia-oriented assisted living center in Seattle and may not have far to go. Read More >>
Posted 11/09/2009
Going Shopping with Mom
The power of the bargain
By Sara Myers
Assisted living regulations require that residents’ clothing be washed in very hot soapy water and dried in very hot dryers. As a result, clothing gets really beaten up and wears out fast. After a year at Gaffney House, my mother needed some new clothes, so I thought we would go shopping. Read More >>
Posted 11/19/2009
Music Therapy Uses Preloaded iPods to Help Alzheimer’s Patients
Scientists have documented positive effects
By Laurie Orlov
Let's start with a quote from today's Wall Street Journal article, which gets right to the point: "Ann Povodator, an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient in Boynton Beach, Fla., listens to her beloved opera and Yiddish songs every day on an iPod with her home health aide or her daughter when she comes to visit. ‘We listen for at least a half-hour, and we talk afterwards,’ says her daughter, Marilyn Povodator. ‘It seems to touch something deep within her.’” Read More >>
Posted 11/05/2009
Aging Drivers Need Tech; Caregivers Need to Provide It
Legislatures considering road and vision testing based on age
By Laurie Orlov
On the positive side, older drivers are not responsible for the bulk of traffic accidents—adults age 20-34 have that distinction—and they experience fewer fatal crashes per licensed driver. That's the good news. Read More >>
Posted 10/08/2009
Did Seniors and TVs Disconnect During the Analog-Digital Switch?
Keep It Simple has a solution
By Laurie Orlov
I tend not to write about gadgets, but the TV remote has bugged me for a while. Since the analog-digital switch, my mother-in-law struggles to use the remote control of her new digital TV. Sometimes she "gets it" by reading printed directions. Sometimes she just yanks the cord out of the wall to turn off the set. Somehow, I don't think she is the only one who used to have an older-style “dial” TV that you walked up to and switched on/off. Read More >>
Posted 09/14/2009
Whatever You Do, Don’t Do It Alone
Caregivers must reach out to each other
By Sara Myers
A shout out to those who shared their caregiving experiences related to residents’ boredom in long-term care. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my concern for my mother. She receives excellent care but seems quite bored. Not sure what to do, I asked readers to send in their take on the subject and a few suggestions for how they have dealt with the issue. Read More >>
