As an undergraduate student, I was inspired to become a gerontologist after learning about the 1976 research study in which psychologists Ellen Langer and Judith Rodin investigated the effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged, which resulted in a groundbreaking study on the impact of loneliness on seniors. They selected two floors of a […]
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Residents are well known at Carol Woods Retirement Community. But there is a difference between being well known and being celebrated. Residents, employee and family care partners of the Building 6 and 7 assisted living neighborhood at Carol Woods are striving toward the latter. Kay, a resident, explains: We want to be, not a family, […]
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If I Could Just Go Back… Back in undergrad, Rams Commons was THE place to be. For those who weren’t fortunate enough to attend Winston-Salem State University (WSSU), Rams Commons is a co-ed dorm with suites. There were four bedrooms per suite, with a full-sized bed, closet, and desk in each room. We shared a […]
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I recently had the honor of joining a virtual ritual convened by Age Without Borders. We gathered in observance of the 11 souls lost – many of them Elders – in a Pittsburgh synagogue shooting on October 27th. Our time together was marked by the words of the officiating rabbi. He shared, “You are not […]
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There is a common tendency to address these challenges with simple or complicated solutions more befitting of the inanimate. We believe the best solutions, while ever-changing, will come from the community itself, and each community is different.
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One of the biggest problems with the life “stages” notion is the expectations and “rules” that go along with them: I’m an adult now, I should act grown up; I have a family, I should be responsible; I’m old so I should act my age and move to a retirement home.
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Imagine a dementia-inclusive community; a place where each person’s uniqueness is valued, deep relationships flourish and differences are embraced. Imagine a dementia-inclusive community where each person’s perceptions and experience of the world, while often different than our own, are taken into account and honored.
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Every time we assign the sole responsibility of aging well to an individual, we disregard that person’s uniqueness in a very unrealistic and unjust way. Each of us has gone through a combination of biological and socioeconomic experiences that have affected us at every turn.
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