84-year-old is a social justice 'geri-activist'

Helen Tarbert doesn't believe any one episode inspired her to a life of activism, but she does recall a story from more than 50 years ago.

She was working toward her master's degree in English at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1950s, when a foreign-born classmate was beaten, robbed and killed on his way to check his mail. Once the killers were caught, Tarbert said, they faced a possible death sentence.

"The student's family came all the way from India and pleaded for their lives," she said. "Now, I don't expect many people to do that, but that has stuck with me all this time, so I think that had an impact on me."

Tarbert, now 84, got involved in the civil rights movement. In 1968, after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, she traveled to Memphis with Baltimore chapter members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

"We stayed with African-American families in the city. It happened that I sat right behind Mrs. King and her children in church," she said. "She kept them close to her and wouldn't let them move. Those kids were so well behaved. I'll never forget that."

She later joined protests against the Vietnam War. Always an animal lover, she became an animal rights activist and has been a vegetarian for more than 30 years.

The retired librarian and researcher planned to attend an interfaith rally against the death penalty last Sunday at the Baltimore Basilica. She has been active in this year's Season of Nonviolence series in Frederick , helping bring peace activist, teacher and author Colman McCarthy to speak next week at her church, Evangelical Lutheran.

She has interests beyond social justices issues.

She keeps ferrets, cats and pygmy goats as pets, and is a member of the Baltimore Ferret Club and the America Ferret Association. She volunteers at her church once a week, participates in religion classes there regularly, and takes comparative religion classes through Frederick 's School of Religion.

She headed to the Folger Library in Washington last week for a performance of Shakespeare.

"I don't think there is a certain age when you should stop doing the things you are interested in doing," she said.

Instead of slowing down, Tarbert has become more involved in social and political causes over the year, attending rallies in Annapolis, Baltimore, Frederick and Washington. Three years ago, she spent more than nine hours on her feet working for a congressional candidate.

She has been involved with such anti-war groups as Code Pink, the Frederick Peace Resource Center and the Frederick chapter of Women in Black. She jokes that she has "a bunch of young friends" at FredPac, the Frederick Progressive Political Action Coalition.

"The older I get, I think, I realize how important these issues are," Tarbert said. "They may not be settled in my lifetime É but that doesn't make it any less important to do what you think is right.

"I'm perfectly willing to be called a radical," she said. "I think it partly comes from my religious beliefs, but I have to say I have said things about George Bush that weren't Christian."

Courtsey:http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=87496

Aging and Diversity : An Active Learning Experience

Book Review

This new edition has been completely rewritten and includes chapters that address key topics in diversity and aging: research methods, psychological aging; health beliefs, behaviors, and services; health disparities; informal and formal care for older persons; work and retirement; religious affiliation and spirituality; and death, dying, and bereavement. Taking a broad view of diversity, Mehrotra and Wagner discuss elements of diversity such as gender, race or ethnicity, religious affiliation, social class, rural-urban community location, and sexual orientation. Including these elements allows them to convey some of the rich complexities of our diverse culture—complexities that provide both challenges to meet the needs of diverse population and opportunities to learn how to live in a pluralistic society.

Throughout the book, Mehrotra and Wagner present up-to-date knowledge and scholarship in a way that engages readers in active learning. Rather than simply transmitting information, the authors place ongoing emphasis on developing readers’ knowledge and skills; fostering higher order thinking and encouraging exploration of personal values and attitudes.

Distinctive features of the book include:

• Opening vignettes for each chapter that present a sampling of how the issues to be discussed apply to diverse elders.
• Active learning experiences that invite readers to interview diverse elders, conduct internet searches, and give an analysis of a case study.
• Quizzes at the end of the chapters help readers ascertain the extent to which they have learned the material; the key for each quiz includes details about correct and incorrect responses so that additional learning can occur.
• Aging and Diversity Online boxes interspersed throughout the book provide internet resources that readers may use to find new research and publications.
• Suggested readings and audiovisual resources given at the end of each chapter serve as a guide to additional information on topics covered in the chapter.

This approach of presenting the material will help the readers understand and apply key concepts and principles in ways that will not only improve the lives of older people they serve, but will also enhance their own aging experience.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Second Edition. Aging and Diversity. Research Methods. Psychology and Aging. Health Beliefs, Behaviors, and Services. Inequalities in Health. Informal and Formal Care for Older Persons. Work, Retirement, and Leisure. Religious Affiliation and Spirituality. Death, Dying, and Bereavement. Epilogue.

About the Author(s)

Chandra M. Mehrotra, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Dean of Special Projects, College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. Dr. Mehrotra is a fellow of the American Psychological Association's Division 2 (Teaching of Psychology) and Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging). He is also a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. He serves on the editorial board of Educational Gerontology.
Lisa Smith Wagner, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology, University of San Francisco. Her teaching interests include course on stereotyping and prejudice, and aging. She is particularly interested in the process that occurs when people change group membership. She also conducts research examining the role of culture in stress and coping, communication, information access and health-related behaviors.

• Price: $39.95 $35.96
• Pages: 432
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 16th December 2008
• ISBN: 978-0-415-95214-9

Understand Dementia

What is Dementia?
Dementia is the gradual deterioration of mental functioning, such as concentration, memory, and judgment, which affects a person’s ability to perform normal daily activities.


Who gets Dementia?

Dementia occurs primarily in people who are over the age of 65, or in those with an injury or disease that affects brain function. While dementia is most commonly seen in the elderly, it is not a normal consequence of the aging process.

What causes Dementia?

Dementia is caused by the death of brain cells. Brain cells can be destroyed by brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, or strokes (called vascular or multi-infarct dementia), which decrease blood flow to the brain. Lewy body dementia is another common cause attributed to changes in brain tissue. Other causes can include AIDS, high fever, dehydration, hydrocephalus, systemic lupus erythematosus, Lyme disease, long-term drug or alcohol abuse, vitamin deficiencies/poor nutrition, hypothyroidism or hypercalcemia, multiple sclerosis, brain tumor, or diseases such as Pick’s, Parkinson's, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, or Huntington's. Dementia can also result from a head injury that causes hemorrhaging in the brain or a reaction to a medication.

What are the symptoms Of Dementia?

In most cases, the symptoms of dementia occur gradually, over a period of years. Symptoms of dementia caused by injury or stroke occur more abruptly. Difficulties often begin with memory, progressing from simple forgetfulness to the inability to remember directions, recent events, and familiar faces and names. Other symptoms include difficulty with spoken communication, personality changes, problems with abstract thinking, poor personal hygiene, trouble sleeping, and poor judgment and decision making. Dementia is extremely frustrating for the patient, especially in the early stages when he or she is aware of the deficiencies it causes. People with dementia are likely to lash out at those around them, either out of frustration or because their difficulty with understanding makes them misinterpret the actions of others. They become extremely confused and anxious when in unfamiliar surroundings or with any change in routine. They may begin a task, such as cooking, then wander away aimlessly and completely forget what they had been doing. Dementia is often accompanied by depression and delirium, which is characterized by an inability to pay attention, fluctuating consciousness, hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions. People in advanced stages of dementia lose all control of bodily functions and are completely dependent upon others.

How is Dementia diagnosed?

Dementia is diagnosed through a study of the patient’s medical history and a complete physical and neurological exam. The doctor will speak with those close to the patient to document a pattern of behavior. He or she will also evaluate the patient’s mental functioning with tests of mental status, such as those that require the patient to recall words, lists of objects, names of objects, and recent events. Diagnostic tests, such as blood tests, x-rays, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), or computed tomography (CT) scans, can help determine the cause of the dementia.

What are the treatments for Dementia?

In some instances, treating the cause of dementia may successfully reverse some or all of the symptoms. This is the case when the cause is related to a vitamin/nutritional deficiency, tumor, alcohol or drug abuse, reaction to a medication, or hormonal disorder. When dementia is related to an irreversible destruction of brain tissue, such as with Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, or multiple strokes, treatment involves improving the patient’s quality of life as much as possible. This includes maintaining a stable, safe, supportive environment and providing constant supervision. While this may be done in the home, people in the advanced stages of dementia may require round-the-clock care in a long-term healthcare facility. It is important to provide the patient with structured activities and avoid disruptions to his or her daily routine. Many patients enjoy therapeutic activities, such as crafts or games, designed specifically for people with dementia. Some medications, such as donepezil and tacrine, have been effective in improving the mental functions of those in the beginning stages of dementia. Patients with hallucinations and delusions may also be treated with antipsychotic drugs, while antidepressant medications are used to treat depression.

Self-care tips

There is currently no known way to prevent dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease. You can decrease your risk of dementia associated with stroke by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, following a heart-healthy diet, and controlling high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Healthy lifestyles, including not smoking and not abusing drugs and alcohol, go a long way in keeping most people in good health. Caring for a person with dementia is stressful. It is important to learn all you can about the disease, seek the help of support groups, and find a responsible caregiver who can give you a break when needed. There are daycare programs specifically designed for patients with dementia that are good for the patient and the family.

This information has been designed as a comprehensive and quick reference guide written by our health care reviewers. The health information written by our authors is intended to be a supplement to the care provided by your physician. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice.


Alzheimer's is most common form of Dementia.

10 warning signs of Alzheimer's:

1. Memory loss. Forgetting recently learned information is one of the most common early signs of dementia. A person begins to forget more often and is unable to recall the information later.

2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks. People with dementia often find it hard to plan or complete everyday tasks. Individuals may lose track of the steps involved in preparing a meal, placing a telephone call or playing a game.

3. Problems with language. People with Alzheimer’s disease often forget simple words or substitute unusual words, making their speech or writing hard to understand. They may be unable to find the toothbrush, for example, and instead ask for "that thing for my mouth.”

4. Disorientation to time and place. People with Alzheimer’s disease can become lost in their own neighborhood, forget where they are and how they got there, and not know how to get back home.

5. Poor or decreased judgment. Those with Alzheimer’s may dress inappropriately, wearing several layers on a warm day or little clothing in the cold. They may show poor judgment, like giving away large sums of money to telemarketers.

6. Problems with abstract thinking. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease may have unusual difficulty performing complex mental tasks, like forgetting what numbers are for and how they should be used.

7. Misplacing things. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may put things in unusual places: an iron in the freezer or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.

8. Changes in mood or behavior. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease may show rapid mood swings – from calm to tears to anger – for no apparent reason.

9. Changes in personality. The personalities of people with dementia can change dramatically. They may become extremely confused, suspicious, fearful or dependent on a family member.

10. Loss of initiative. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may become very passive, sitting in front of the TV for hours, sleeping more than usual or not wanting to do usual activities.

If you find anyone suffering from above memory loss please contact ARDSI and Silver Inning Foundation in India,Alzheimer's society in your country,Neurologist or Psychiatrist.

Early Detection and Good lifestyle are some of the way to delay Dementia.

Sexuality of older adults needs recognition

“Age should never be a limiting factor in sexuality and intimacy.”

That remark summarizes the thoughts of Dr. Nathalie Gamache, a gynecologist at the Shirley E. Greenberg Women’s Health Centre of the Ottawa Hospital, who recently gave a presentation to the Council of Aging of Ottawa.

While Geenberg focused on women, Carmen Rodrigue, a nurse with Geriatric Psychiatry Community Services of Ottawa, addressed the issue for both sexes.

“We are all sexual human beings,” said Rodrigue, while noting we do not all express our sexuality in the same manner.

Our sexual expression is influenced by our values, beliefs, and culture. Other factors in sexual expression include hormonal levels, general health, including mental health, and satisfaction with your partner (if you have one).

Drugs have an impact, with anti-depressants, for example, decreasing libido. Alcohol also has an effect. In addition, confidence, self-esteem, stress, and tiredness come into play. Expectations and willingness to experiment are determinants of sexual expression.

As men become older, it takes longer and requires more stimulation for them to become aroused. An erection is less firm and of shorter duration than in youth. However, erectile dysfunction is not simply caused by aging. It is a condition that should be discussed with a doctor.

Like men, older women require more stimulation for arousal. Desire may decrease, and there is decreased sensitivity of clitoris and breasts. One problem can be vaginal dryness, for which a water-based lubricant should be used. Ask the doctor or pharmacist about a suitable product.

It is important to practice safe sex. Sexually transmitted diseases can strike at any age. A condom is strongly recommended if you are not sure of the sexual health of your partner. However, sexuality is not simply a matter of sexual intercourse. It can include touching, cuddling, closeness, tenderness, warmth, emotional support, affection, and companionship as well.

Family attitudes toward seniors’ sexuality can be an issue. Children and other family members may be bearers of ageism and may be over-protective and controlling. As well, they may be concerned about the possibility of losing an inheritance.

Seniors need to be assertive and exercise self-esteem in resisting intrusions in personal choices and new relationships. The older person needs to be in control and to experience belonging and love.

Even in dementia, libido continues in most cases. Other sexual needs such as closeness and tenderness continue. Because insight and judgment are impaired, a demented person can become too disinhibited, and the past may be seen as the present. Thus, a man who experiences personal care from a nurse may interpret the attention as affection, and sexual advances will need to be discouraged.

When a person with some dementia is sexually active, the person needs to be aware of what is happening, avoid being exploited, and recognize risks, such as the fact that a relationship may end.

Gamache pointed out that this is the first time in the history of Western society that women’s desire for sexual satisfaction is considered legitimate.

Source:http://www.seniorsdaily.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1282&Itemid=39

Taking Age Stereotypes to Heart

Heart-felt perils await people who hold disapproving attitudes about the elderly, a new study suggests.

Young and middle-aged adults who endorse negative stereotypes about older people display high rates of strokes, heart attacks and other serious heart problems later in life, compared with aging peers who view the elderly in generally positive ways, say Yale University psychologist Becca Levy and her colleagues.

“We found that age stereotypes, which tend to be acquired in childhood or young adulthood and carried over into old age, seem to have far-reaching effects on cardiovascular health,” Levy says.

Her team describes evidence for a connection between attitudes toward aging and eventual heart health in a paper published online February 13 and set to appear in Psychological Science. Reasons for this association remain unclear. In earlier studies, Levy found that elderly volunteers who reported negative stereotypes about old people were more likely to display heightened physiological responses to stress and to report unhealthy habits, such as cigarette smoking.

Levy’s new report “is the latest in a series of well-conducted studies by various scientists that demonstrate that individual psychological differences assessed early in life predict various health and longevity outcomes many years later,” remarks psychologist Howard Friedman of the University of California, Riverside.

Further work should examine whether psychological traits already linked to physical health as people age, such as conscientiousness, influence attitudes toward the elderly, Friedman says. It’s an open question whether an association also exists between negative age-stereotypes and non-heart-related illnesses, or dying at an unusually early age, he adds.

Levy’s team studied 386 people, ages 18 to 49, who were participating in a larger, long-term study of aging. In 1968, these volunteers — none of whom had experienced any heart ailments — completed a questionnaire that measured the extent to which they agreed with 16 negative age-stereotypes. These stereotypes included beliefs that elderly people are “feeble” and “helpless.”

Thirty years later, 25 percent of those reporting negative age-stereotypes had suffered a heart ailment or a stroke, compared with 13 percent of those who rejected the age stereotypes. Heart-related problems commonly occurred about 11 years after participants entered the study.

To get a better handle on those whose heart-related problems did not show up for decades, Levy and her coworkers winnowed their sample down to 225 individuals, ages 18 to 39 at the study’s start, who experienced an initial heart ailment or stroke after their 60th birthdays. Those who had a poor regard for the elderly were much more likely to have heart-related problems in their early 60s, before those volunteers who viewed old age positively.

These findings held after the researchers accounted for other factors that can influence heart disease, including blood pressure, family health history, depression, education, sex, marital status, total cholesterol level and cigarette use.

Absent any detailed understanding of the ways in which age stereotypes may ultimately affect heart health, it’s too early to recommend any preventive programs aimed at altering negative attitudes toward the elderly, Friedman cautions. Possible mechanisms to explain why age stereotypes affect heart health include temperament, behavior and physiological traits.

Source:http://www.globalaging.org/health/us/2009/taking.htm

''SENIOR'' :Importance of ICT FOR OLDER PEOPLE

The world is rapidly ageing: the number of people aged 60 and over as a proportion of the global population will double from 11% in 2006 to 22% by 2050. By then, there will be ore older people than children (aged 0-14 years) in the population for the first time in human history. Europe's population is steadily ageing as well with a serious negative impact in economic growth.

Technologists and policy makers know that Information Communication Technologies (ICT) could dramatically improve the living conditions of older people, and turn ageing from an economic burden into a potentially productive resource. Yet two critical factors have limited ICT use till today. First old persons felt often unease with ICTs, which were too far from the world they were used to live. Second ICT were frequently designed without taking into account older people need and minor disabilities. The scenario has been now dramatically changing.

Baby boomers, the largest generation in Western history, have reached the age of 60. Baby boomers are more educated than the generations that preceded them and have a history of sense of entitlement. They will be a transforming generation in part because of their numbers, and in part because they are the first generation getting old with some familiarity with ICT.

Next years will certainly be then the years of "ICT for Ageing" and universal access to communication and information services is likely to be recognised as an essential human right of senior citizens. It poses, however, various challenges, some of them related to the implementation of ICT embracing design-for-all concepts, some others related to ethical and privacy concerns. Design an deployment of ICT is often driven only by cost-benefit considerations, yet ICT also implies problems of privacy, respect for liberty, dignity, autonomy and other fundamental ethical principles. To get the problems' dimension it is enough to think of technologies, which are beginning to be deployed on a large scale, such as behavioural pattern monitoring systems, in which behaviour patterns of elderly subjects are monitored and any changes detected are reported to care givers; sensors in exit doors that give warning about undesired "movement"; electronic tag and RFID making localisation of the elderly possible; and so on. The new scenario created by the arrival of the new older generation of baby boomers will be therefore marked by the need to define the ethical and privacy frameworks that should be constructed to protect senior citizens from misuse and abuse of ICT. This is SENIOR project's mission.

Project profile

SOCIAL, ETHICAL AND PRIVACY NEEDS IN ICT FOR OLDER PEOPLE: A DIALOGUE ROADMAP (SENIOR) is a 24-month support action which aims to provide a systematic assessment of the social, ethical and privacy issues involved in ICT and Ageing, to understand what lessons should be learned from current technological trends, and to plan strategies for governing future trends.
While new technologies hold great promise, they also pose risks to privacy and ethical principles. The SENIOR consortium is committed to investigating how new ICT can meet the needs of senior citizens without compromising privacy and ethics. Thus, SENIOR is based on three main principles, which determine the main phases of this project: its goal is inclusion, dialogue is its instrument and technology design is its target.

e-Inclusion and its significance

SENIOR is part of the wider EU strategy established by the Lisbon Treaty aimed at eradicating poverty and social exclusion by 2010. The Riga Ministerial Declaration on e-Inclusion of June 2006 identified six themes which the European Commission uses to foster social inclusion: e-Accessibility (make ICT accessible to all), e-Ageing (empower older people to fully participate in the economy and society), e-Competences (equip citizens with the knowledge and skills for lifelong learning), Socio-Cultural e-Inclusion (enable minorities, migrants and marginalised young people), Geographical e-Inclusion (increase the social and economic well-being of people in economically disadvantaged areas with the help of ICT), and Inclusive e-Government (encouraging increased public participation in democracy).
The SENIOR contribution to policy implementation is twofold. First, SENIOR will describe the ethical and privacy impacts of ICT for inclusion. This objective will be achieved through a series of thematic expert meetings. Each meeting will (i) define ICT systemic solutions and technology trends, (ii) discuss relevant ethical and privacy issues and (iii) weigh the trade-offs between privacy, ethics and technological innovation. Second, the project will identify ICT services and solutions that avoid exclusion and promote inclusion of senior citizens and will develop a roadmap showing how ethics and privacy principles could be incorporated in technology design. The roadmap will set out key actions, investment strategies, resource requirements, risks and milestones.

Expected results

The main outcome of the project will be a Roadmap (to 2020) that is expected to drive future development and deployment of ICT for ageing in Europe.

Contact:
Email: emilio.mordini@cssc.eu

Website: http://seniorproject.eu/index.php

"ElderGames" using advanced technologies that will improve life of Elderly

ElderGames will research the specific needs of elderly people and create a motivating environment through an entertainment offer with high preventive and therapeutic value using advanced technologies that will improve, as much research has shown, variables related to the quality of life, with particular emphasis on cognitive skills in old age.

• ElderGames will focus the research on the effects of play in old age and will demonstrate that experts consider that conclusions obtained for children regarding the improving of the physical, physic and social and affective health can also be applied to elderly people.
• ElderGames will investigate in the adequacy of these advanced technologies for play-related therapeutic intervention among elderly people, taking ethical issues in consideration.
• ElderGames will research into the use of Mixed Reality technologies by the elderly people and how related applications can be used as innovative play-related-therapeutic tools.
  

The Information Society, as a paradigm for the future, is something to which all sectors of society should have access and from which all them should benefit.

The elderly in society pose a particular challenge as they are often disaffected from the technological advance and unaware of the potential benefit that information society technologies can have on their lives.

The ElderGames project is based on the verified importance of leisure for senior citizens quality of life and those scientific results that show how play activity not only contributes to an enrichment of leisure time, but can also prove to be a powerful application when used for rehabilitation and prevention of the negative effects linked to aging (memory loss, degradation of cognitive ability, disintegration of social networks, etc.).

The project will create a pre-commercial version of an interactive-play board (ElderGames) that will be the first opportunity to scientifically explore how emerging advances in ICT can be adapted, applied and combined with play activities to obtain a new preventive therapeutic tool for improving cognitive skills and quality of life (affective, physiological and social) in old age.

ElderGames will also be the first play platform able to monitor cognitive health and welfare, allowing an early detection of cognitive disease or social unease, and so, implement the advisable response to them. The ElderGames interactive board will also integrate an alternative communication system for overcoming the linguistic barriers which could exist between different native languages, allowing on-line games between users from different European countries.

The Consortium of ElderGames project aims at building a network that mediates the geriatrics and gerontologist researcher's interests with the commercial projects, involving academia, industry, experts specialising in elderly care and final users. The complementarities among partners will guarantee the fulfilment of scientific and technological objectives and a perfect blending of scientific research with real commercial applications.

Contact:

E-mail: eldergames@aiju.info

Website:http://www.eldergames.org/index.php