Children Ease Alzheimer’s in Land of Aging.

[elleng]

Something we can learn from South Korea!

'It is part of a remarkable South Korean campaign to cope with an exploding problem: Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. As one of the world’s fastest-aging countries, with nearly 9 percent of its population over 65 already afflicted, South Korea has opened a “War on Dementia,” spending money and shining floodlights on a disease that is, here as in many places, riddled with shame and fear.

South Korea is training thousands of people, including children, as “dementia supporters,” to recognize symptoms and care for patients. The 11- to 13-year-olds, for instance, were in the government’s “Aging-Friendly Comprehensive Experience Hall” outside Seoul. Besides the aging simulation exercise, they viewed a PowerPoint presentation defining dementia and were trained, in the hall’s Dementia Experience Center, to perform hand massage in nursing homes.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/26/health/26alzheimers.html?_r=1&hp

[jaxx]

1. I read this earlier and thought it was really interesting.

It has a lot of positive possibilities to be tried around the world. And it takes away the stigma and the fear. I liked it a lot.

[HockeyMom]

2. I worked with a 45 year old woman with Alzheimer's

She had young children and didn't recognize them. They came to see her all the time and drew her pictures and decorated her room with them. Nothing. She did not talk and wandered the halls if not stopped. One time she managed to walk out the door of the nursing home. It was so very, very sad in such a young woman.

It was a struggle to get her to eat. One day I started talking to her about cooking. We would pretend to cook the food while I fed her. She actually would TALK. We added more oregano to the tomato sauce. We BBQ the hamburger and "made" mashed potatoes. Whenever she saw me, she would scream, "Cook dinner!" I suppose as the mother and wife of a young family it stirred very pleasant memories in her. At any rate, it worked to get her to eat and communicate in a small way.

[Kali]

3. I TOTALLY used my young son

when caring for my Grandfather.