Saving the Libraries Lost to Alzheimer's Disease

The following is a wonderful article, by Ellen Potts, about the power of sharing stories in relation to those suffering with Alzheimer's disease. 

Activities such as arts and crafts enable many suffering with
Alzheimer's to remember and share stories from their lives.

Saving the Libraries Lost to Alzheimer’s Disease

By Ellen Woodward Potts and Daniel C. Potts

Storytelling is a part of our make-up as human beings. From the time our children are old enough to have any understanding at all, we teach them family stories, stories of our country, stories of our faith.

These stories give both children and adults a sense of belonging, a sense of place in the broader scheme of things.

One of the great tragedies of Alzheimer’s disease is the loss of personal history as memory fades. I've heard one person compare it to a burning library, and I think that’s an apt description.

My grandmother, Margaret Enloe Woodward, died of Alzheimer’s disease in 1995 at the age of 94. At her funeral, the pastor told the story of how around 1915, Grandmama rode across the mountains with her little sister sitting behind her on the horse, as the family moved to Sevierville, TN from the family farm they had just sold near Maggie Valley, NC.

I knew the farm later became the Mountain Farm Museum at the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, but I had no idea Grandmama and one of her sisters had ridden horseback across the mountains in the move.

I suppose my father told the pastor this story. How could I not have heard it before?

I realized at that moment how many changes Grandmama had seen in her lifetime -- two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the advent of electricity and automobiles, just to name a few. How I wish I had recorded her stories while I had the chance!

To help other families in this effort, our foundation, Cognitive Dynamics, sponsors an initiative called “Bringing Art to Life.”

We partner with the University of Alabama Honors College to offer a for credit course which brings art therapy to people with early to moderate Alzheimer’s living in West Central Alabama.

During art therapy, wonderful stories of the past are brought to the surface. The students enrolled the course record these stories, and meet with the participants with Alzheimer’s and their families to gain an even greater understanding of the person’s history.

In essence, they are pulling the books from the burning library.

Mary, one of the participants with Alzheimer’s disease, was withdrawn and uncommunicative, looking to her daughters to speak for her.

Reluctantly, we invited Mary’s family to enroll her as a participant in the course, all the time wondering if Mary’s condition was too far advanced to receive much benefit.

We were so wrong.

Two female students were assigned to record Mary’s life story. There were some awkward moments when they visited her home for the first time. Then, one of her daughters had the bright idea to bring out Mary’s wedding dress.

And Mary came to life.

To everyone’s amazement, Mary couldn’t stop talking about her husband, how much she loved him, their wedding day, the problems fitting the dress, and a hundred other details of that day more than 60 years before.

No, Mary could not have told the group what she had for breakfast a couple of hours before, but she could tell her story, and she felt valued. By the time the students left, Mary called them her “new granddaughters.”

Mary’s condition markedly improved through participating in the course, both from the students’ visits and through the art therapy. For Mary, nothing medical science could offer was as effective as being able to tell her story.

What objects are significant to your loved one with Alzheimer’s disease? Bring them out and ask about them. You may be surprised at the results.

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Ellen Woodward Potts, MBA has over 20 years’ experience in healthcare management and teaches “Leadership Development through Service,” a survey course of non-profit organizations, at the University of Alabama. She currently serves as Managing Partner for Dementia Dynamics, LLC, and as Board President for Caring Congregations, an inter-faith organization that operates 3 dementia daycare centers, a GPS locator program, and other dementia support services. Through A Pocket Guide for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver, she strives to honor the care her family members gave her maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother, both of whom had Alzheimer’s disease.

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Our mission statement at Caring Places Management is: "Exceeding expectations for loving, thoughtful care..."


Dawn Pratt, current operations officer and former administrator of The Forest Grove Beehive, shares a story that shows what "exceeding expectations for loving, thoughtful care" really means. 

Grandma's Tweetin'

If lately, grandma and grandpa have been filling your Facebook feed with status updates or pictures from their latest vaction, you are not alone... According to Pew Research Center and Princeton Survey Research Associates International 53% of seniors are actively online, 34% are using social media of some form, and 86% are using email.

The following data was gathered by the Nielsen Company, and reflect online activity of people 65 or older, as of 2009:

This first table shows what seniors are most actively doing online. The most common activity was checking personal e-mail. Viewing or printing maps and checking the weather followed close behind.

Top 10 Online Activities Performed in the Last 30 Days by People 65+ (U.S.)
RANK	Profile Point: Internet Activities in Last 30 Days	Audience Composition Percent
1	Personal E-mail	88.6
2	Viewed or Printed Maps Online	68.6
3	Checked Weather Online	60.1
4	Paid/Viewed Bills Online	51.2
5	View/Posted Photos Online	50.1
6	Read General/Political News	49.2
7	Checked Personal Health Care Info	47.3
8	Planned Leisure Travel Trip Online	39
9	Searched Recipes/Meal Planning Suggestions	38.4
10	Read Business/Finance News	37.8
Source: The Nielsen Company, Nielsen @Plan Fall 2009 Release, Adults 18+

The No. 1 online destination for people over 65 in November 2009 was Google Search, with 10.3 million unique visitors. Windows Media Player and Facebook were No. 2 and No. 3, with 8.2 million and 7.9 million visitors, respectively. Interestingly, Facebook, which came in at No. 3 in 2009, ranked No. 45 in 2008 among sites visited by senior citizens.

Overall, the number of unique visitors who are 65 or older on social networking and blog sites has increased 53 percent in the last two years alone. 8.2% of all social network and blog visitors are over 65, just 0.1 percentage points less than the number of teenagers who frequent these sites. Again, this data was collected in 2009, and most certainly has continued to increase in the past 3 years.

Top 10 Online Destinations Visited by People 65+ in November 2009 (U.S., Home and Work)
RANK	Site	Unique Audience (000)	Unique Audience Composition (%)
1	Google Search	10,253	7.7
2	Windows Media Player	8,241	10.9
3	Facebook	7,946	7.2
4	YouTube	7,668	8.4
5	Amazon	5,679	9.3
6	Yahoo! Mail	5,638	7.8
7	Yahoo! Search	5,583	8.7
8	Yahoo! Homepage	5,383	6.8
9	Bing Web	4,510	10.1
10	Google Maps	4,397	8.4
Source: The Nielsen Company

So don't be surprised when you see grandma tweeting from her iPhone about the latest rose ceremony from "The Bachelorette." Seniors are becoming a bigger part of the online social media landscape, and it appears they are here to stay.

My wonderful grandmother with her great-granddaughter.

My grandma recently made the jump from living alone in her home in Chicago, Illinois, to living in a senior living community. On our recent visit, I could not help but notice an extra jump in her step. My grandma has always been sharp for her age, but the change of environment seemed to have magnified her usual witty self. The physical effects were readily noticeable too. She had lost a little weight and had much more energy. The social environment of being around new people and friends, instead of alone in her home, have seemed to have a wonderful effect on my sweet grandmother.

Senior living may not be for everyone, but, just as my family has recently seen with our grandma, it is a wonderful option for many seniors. The following was taken from an article written by Jeff Anderson of A Place for Mom, and discusses 8 different reasons why seniors prefer senior living to living alone: 

8 Reasons Why Many Seniors Prefer Senior Living to Living Alone

Most seniors who have moved to independent living or assisted living communities report that they prefer life at their new home to life alone. Here are some common reasons why:

1. The end of yard work and home maintenance:

Keeping up a home is hard, especially for those of us who have developed physical ailments. Mowing the lawn, climbing a ladder to change light bulbs, shoveling snow, pulling weeds, vacuuming- these become things of the past. But don’t worry green thumbs: Residents are more than welcome to adopt a garden.

2. Vanquishing boredom:

Residents need never be bored at a senior community. There’s something for everyone. All kinds of entertainment and activities are offered, both on-site and out in the local community. Entertainment can range from visiting musicians and performers, to day trips that might include local landmarks, forays into nature, or just an outing to the local art museum.

Seniors who experience declines while living alone often thrive in a more supportive environment.

3. Better family relationships:

Older folks frequently become dependent on their grown children, or other close family members, for help of all kinds. Unnatural role reversals can strain relationships and foster unhealthy feelings of resentment, both by parents and their sons and daughters. Younger family members are liberated from the role of full-time caregivers, and are able to assure that time with their older loved one is meaningful and high-quality. Older residents are glad to return to the role of family matriarch or patriarch and often pleased that their grown children no longer have to “parent the parent”.

4. Better food:

There are many residents at senior communities who used to live alone, and were not eating right. Some skipped meals, some were living on ice-cream alone, and one lady would put cat-litter in the coffee brewer. At senior living communities, residents don’t have to worry about grocery shopping, meal preparation, or even coffee brewing. Instead, they get to enjoy a fine dining experience every day of the week. The food tastes good, alternative meals are almost always offered and special diet needs can ordinarily be accommodated. It’s common for new residents, who had been eating poorly before they moved-in, to experience breathtaking improvements in their health and wellbeing just from three square meals per day.

5. No more stressful driving:

Driving can be a tense and stressful as we age, and our driving abilities may not be what they once were either. For these reasons, most residents prefer to take advantage of the free transportation that’s provided by independent and assisted living communities. There’s no need to rely on a car any longer, although parking is available for residents who still drive.

6. Feeling like myself again:

 Living alone, we may not be able to participate in games and activities we enjoyed, that were both fun, and helped keep us sharp. But senior communities offer a wealth of opportunities to keep engaged. This can include favorite games like chess, bridge and poker, engaging reading groups and discussion groups, and fascinating classes and lectures on every conceivable topic.

7. Making new friends:

Older adults who live alone often become isolated, which is unhealthy at any age. At senior communities we can make friends, share a meal, and enjoy festive occasions with one another. On the other hand, those of us who are more introverted appreciate that our privacy is respected, but are still glad to have folks around.

8. Finally feeling safe:

Residents can rest easy knowing that they are secured from thieves, con-men and ne’er-do-wells. Furthermore, residents enjoy the peace of mind that comes from the emergency response systems that are in each apartment, or sometimes on the resident’s person as a pendant. This alleviates fears about falling and becoming trapped for hours or even days, a scenario that’s all too common for senior’s residing alone.

Certainly, there are seniors who live alone and are just fine. We recognize that senior communities aren’t for everyone. But it’s without doubt that there are vast numbers of seniors living alone in unsafe or unhealthy situations who would benefit immensely from life at a senior community...