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.
Head in the Sand
A historical review of major warning signs for the current crisis over the past 20 years (1997-2018) including, among others, findings from government investigations and large-scale research studies as well as opinions of leading national experts. The lack of basic protections for vulnerable and frail residents – many of whom living with dementia – in this rapidly growing but registration-only assisted living industry in Minnesota places these individuals at risk of abuse, neglect, avoidable accidents, financial exploitation, and other forms of harm.
The Wow Factor
There’s a strange pattern here. We’re surprised by young people who display what we consider to be the kind of sophistication and wisdom that we associate only with experience and age, as well as by elders who display the physical stamina, prowess, and productivity of people decades younger. It’s as if to be young means only to be strong and to be old means only to be wise.
Dementia: the Joy of Living an Improvisational Life
In her December 2017 post, “Stealing Hope,” Anne D. Basting passionately challenges the fear and stigma-inducing “tragedy narrative” that distorts how people living with dementia are seen within the broader culture. The two of us were especially inspired by Anne’s closing words, “Family members and friends…can learn to shift toward creativity to find emotional connection, to […]
Let’s talk about sex—after 60
Older adults account for an increasing proportion of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, in the United States. Notwithstanding, sex after sixty continues to remain shrouded in silence. In this post, doctoral student Christina Pierpaoli Parker discusses the reasons for and consequences of the scantiness of late life sexual health conversations, concluding with recommendations for increasing their visibility.
Grateful for Getting Older
I am no more entitled to a far-reaching lifespan than anyone else on this planet. No amount of attachment to nuanced goals or well-constructed plans for the future assures me longevity.
The Tension
A Report from the Slow Lane. I don’t really have a place to stand. I’m just uneasy. Anything I do is contaminated by my awareness. Not doing anything, or enough, is equally unsatisfying. I am literally torn apart, if I let myself know what I already know.
Another Look at “Successful Aging”
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.
