Archive for the ‘dementia’ Category

Your Brain, Use it or Lose it?

Friday, July 9th, 2010

It’s probably the most important body part you have, but when was the last time you worked out your brain? And, no, trying to remember where the Weather Channel moved on your cable system, doesn’t count. If you’re like most of us Boomers, the thought of  losing your mind, could cause you to, well, lose it. We’re obsessed with crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and Scrabble, but I would guess that very few of us actually make time to work out our brains. Even if you believe that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, exercising your noggin can’t hurt. The most important thing is to get started, and keep at it. Sounds like exercising anything, doesn’t it? There are a lot of companies working in this space, as Baby Boomers age, the market is growing with them. I met some of the people behind Posit Science at a Boomer conference, and recently have been in touch with one of their Internet marketing analysts, Eric. He’s sent me a couple of the games to try out…pretty interesting, and a little scary. Check them out here: 

How did you do? I’ll share if you do.

If you want another way to work out your brain, check out this week’s Blogging Boomer’s Carnival!

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Posted in Alzheimers, aging, boomers, dementia, exercise, people | 1 Comment »

Baby Boomers Take Note: A Wonderful Use For Your Flip Video

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

Most Baby Boomers have a video recorder. It may be an older video camera you bought for taking videos of the kids growing up, or a cool new Flip Video, but you know you’ve got one. After reading this you’re going to want to dust if off and recharge the batteries.

For her mom’s 75th birthday, Ann Mehl had her filmmaker friend Mark McDevitt film her mother as she went around doing her daily tasks. Ho hum you’re thinking, right? Before you dismiss it as just another family video, check it out here on the NY Times site. Ann’s mother has dementia, and Ann has written several time for this blog, about her experiences caring for an elderly parent. Mark has captured her caregiving, and kindness as well as the wonderful spirit of Ann’s mother. Here are some ideas for video records for your own family and you don’t have to have a professional do them:

  • Practical: Shoot videos of each room in the house, focusing on valuables. Copy this video to a thumbdrive and move it to a secure place off-site in case of fire or theft. This way you’ll have a record for the insurance company.
  • Delicious: Is there a family recipe or cooking technique you’d like to know about? Sometimes a pinch of this, or the right texture for meatballs or pie crust is better filmed than on a aging recipe card.
  • Enthralling: What better way to have the family stories preserved, than by your family’s best story teller?
  • Timeless: Do you really look at your photos on the computer? Wouldn’t you rather see your family as they were at that moment in time? The NY Times piece said “If we want to remember the people they were at 75 or 85 or 93, why don’t we document their voices and smiles and stories using today’s simple, affordable technology?”
  • Creative: The Times article also pointed out that the younger members of the family may be the most adept with the technology, so why not let them have a shot at filmmaking?

What other uses for a video camera can you think of for your family memories? Leave a comment. As a side note, because I was so touched by the 75th birthday video, I’ve been working with Mark on another project, and it’s been a great experience.

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Posted in aging, boomers, caregiving, dementia, family, legacy, memories | Comments Off

Someone to lean on, a new workshop for caregivers

Monday, January 11th, 2010

It's All About Aging Ann with her momOne of It’s All About Aging’s favorite guest bloggers, Ann Mehl, is starting an exciting new workshop in February. As an executive coach and entrepreneur dealing with a mother with dementia, Ann knows firsthand what she’s teaching. For this series she’s teaming up with Angelica Perez, Ph.D., a licensed Clinical Psychologist with a specialty in geropsychology
and dementia. For those of you scratching your heads (like I did) geropsychology is the field within psychology devoted to the study of aging and the provision of clinical services for older adults. See…we’re already smarter.

Ann, in her “ample leisure”*, is also a marathon runner. She finds that a lot of her experiences with running translate into her business, and personal life. This from her most recent blog resonated with me and ties in so well with her workshop:

Get Help: The first time I signed up for a marathon, I was so worried about not finishing that I didn’t tell a soul I was running. So while there were no rallying crowds of supporters screaming, “Go, Ann!”, I did hear the occasional, “Ann? Is that you?” from puzzled friends on the sidelines. Why did I do this? I think I was terrified of failing and looking foolish in front of the people who cared about me. This is a don’t-do-what-I-did message: You may be able to handle things on your own, but you don’t have to, and you’ll likely make the going a lot harder. Invite people to support you in meeting your goal. If you can’t find a training partner (say, a friend who will encourage you to keep working on that novel), join a club (such as a writers’ group). But build yourself a small network of like-minded individuals who will support you. Good partners will hold you accountable, lend an ear, and share a fresh perspective, just when you need it most.

The workshop will be given Mondays during the month of February. Click here to order your tickets. And don’t forget to check out the first Blogging Boomers Carnival for 2010, lots of good posts to get your year off to a great start!

* as used by my former partner when you have none…

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Posted in aging, caregiving, dementia, family | 1 Comment »