Tagged with talking_to_seniors …

Aging Parents: Bodies Slower but Same World View

Aging parents, we should all understand, have frustratingly aging bodies, yet many are seeing and perceiving the world just as they always have. In fact, I’ve heard them say how curious it is to look in the mirror and see themselves staring back. Some wonder, “Who is that old person looking back at me?” About 25 … Continue reading →

Aging Parents: Recognizing Social Wisdom

Assisting parents with their health and other issues often keeps us focused on difficulties, so it is easy to forget just how much experience older parents have with the game of life. Now research from the University of Michigan’s Culture and Cognition Program published in the April 6, 2010 Proceedings of the National Academy of Science … Continue reading →

Quality of Care Leader May Head Medicare

According to the New York Times, President Obama will be appointing an experienced and collaborative physician as the new administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The article by Robert Pear, Obama Chooses Health Policy Scholar as the Director for Medicare and Medicaid, reported that Donald M. Berwick, M.D. is to be … Continue reading →

Assisted Living: The Talk with Aging Parents

Recently Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts interviewed Elinor Ginzler, AARP’s Director of Livable Communities. The January 10, 2010 interview focused on tips to help aging children initiate conversations with aging parents, helping their parents think about assisted living options. The conclusion? These discussions need to gently encourage parents to embark on a healthy and safe transition. Scroll down the … Continue reading →

Evaluating Health Web Sites – Part II

We all learned to write essays when we were young. Our teachers taught us to introduce the important facts.  With web sites the rules are the same. Usually it’s easy to identify significant information about a site, information that indicates whether a site is a reliable resource, but sometimes it’s not so easy. Many web sites often look … Continue reading →

Assumptions About Being Old

Too often seniors who have been successful and productive individuals, are trivialized in their everyday interactions. Most often this occurs unintentionally because of unconscious assumptions about people who are growing old. But it occurs everywhere, and I believe the assumptions that greet a person of any age can often evolve into self-fulfilling prophecies. Negative assumptions … Continue reading →

Technology and Senior Adults

Both of my parents love their computers.  They use e-mail,  the web, or simply pen their thoughts.  My mother is a cracker-jack  e-mail user, communicating with various political, church, and personal lists. My father, I think, would really enjoy a smart phone because of the easy access to resources, though he would not like to … Continue reading →

Pay Attention Please, Docs

Until they are pretty old and fairly tuned out, seniors like explanations. Most do not like medical tests even though Medicare pays for lots of them. My parents like their doctors and willingly get the tests if they understand why and what difference a test will make in their lives, but they want to know … Continue reading →

How We Speak to Seniors

I’d love to know how many seniors are truly hard of hearing. I’ll bet the percentage is higher than the general population, but not that high. I ask this question because I’ve discovered that when people speak to seniors — in clinics, at hospitals, in stores, at the library, but especially in medical settings — … Continue reading →