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Being
engaged with life increasingly requires
help. In this issue of Engage, we
look at a few of the ways help can come to us,
sometimes from unexpected places. How does a
grandson decide to care for his ailing
grandfather? How do we cope with life's
transitions and who can help us when our children
are too young to understand? How
do adult children and their parents
approach the difficult decision of when to
stop driving? These are situations best dealt with
together. We hope the articles below will
offer you help as you consider these challenging
issues.
We hope
you will share Engage with your
family and friends.
Sincerely,
Institute
on Aging
Helping
Bay Area Seniors Live Independently
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The New Senior Moment:
Rundy &
Grandpa
We often consider it a child's
responsibility and privilege to care for his
or her aging parents. In Ivan Prudy, Sr.
case, it has become his grandchild's.
On November 9,
2006 Rundy Purdy, 26 and a budding novelist,
chose to move 30 miles away and into
another world: his grandparents' suburban
home. How did the challenging task
of caring for the family's most elderly fall to
Mr. Purdy? He volunteered.
Read
more...
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Coping with the
Challenges of Aging:
The Psychology Department at
IOA
With contributions
by Diane Nathaniel
The Psychology
Department at Institute on Aging offers a range of
helpful services to older adults in need of mental
health services and psychological care.
Among its several specialties, the
Psychology department can help patients cope with
major life transitions, offer treatment for
symptoms of depression or anxiety, evaluate and
treat memory problems, provide coping mechanism
for various stressors, and provide bereavement
support. All of these services are provided by
highly trained staff that show caring, patience,
and understanding, and who know that older adults
have special needs of which other health care
providers may not be aware.
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Community
Events
Parkinson's Disease Dance
Class
Patients
with Parkinson's Disease are invited to attend
this great movement class.
When: Saturday,
October 18, 12:30pm - 1:45pm
Where: Little
House Activity Center in Menlo Park
For more
information, or to register, call:
866-250-2414
Cost: FREE
A Taste of
Croatia
Join the festivities at the San
Francisco Croatian Festival.
When: Saturday, October 18, 4:00pm
-10:00pm
Where: Croatian American Cultural
Center,
60 Onondaga Ave in San Francisco
For more information call: 510-649-0941
The Importance of Being
Earnest
Come and see the Canada College student
performance of Oscar Wilde's The Importance
of Being Earnest!
When: October 24 &
25, 8:00pm
Where: Flex Theatre at Canada College,
4200 Farm Hill Blvd in Redwood City
For
reservations call: 650-306-3396
Cost: $8 Seniors & Students; $12
General
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ENCOURAGE
Dear
Encourage,
My parents are getting older and
really shouldn't be driving. How do I talk to them
about this? I'm worried about their safety, and
about other people on the road with
them.
Dear
Worried in the Passenger's
Seat,
You've brought up one of the
hardest issues that older adults and families
face- which is when to hand over the keys. The
first thing to know is that it isn't necessarily
the case that everyone over a certain age
shouldn't be driving. There are lots of wonderful,
safe, skilled drivers on the road who are in their
80s or even 90s! Age, by itself, isn't what gets
in the way of someone being a great driver (trust
me, there are a lot of younger horrible drivers
out there to prove it!). That said, there are many
medical conditions that can lead to driving
becoming an unsafe activity, including dementia,
arthritis or limited mobility, poor vision due to
cataracts, glaucoma or other visual impairment,
hearing loss, pain, seizures, and many more.
Anything that can limit your ability to react
quickly, physical or cognitive, can make driving
quickly become terribly dangerous. In the state of
California, medical providers are required to
report these conditions to the DMV. In most cases,
the DMV then asks the driver to come in and take
the written DMV test as well as a driving test.
So, the first step is to figure out whether
or not driving has become a concern and to share
this concern with your parents. It's better to
have an honest conversation, even if you are
worried you will upset them. The best place to
start with this conversation is to express
concern, both for them and for others around them
AND more importantly, to come in ready with a plan
for alternate transportation. Without this plan,
your parents are likely to feel that you are
taking away not only the keys to their car but
keys to their independence. Think carefully about
whether you will be able to offer transportation,
pay for alternate transportation, and/or consider
programs that offer transportation such as the
IOA's Adult Day Health
Center. Read more...
Do you have a question about
engaging with life as, or with, a senior?
Send it our way. Please note, questions may be
printed but will be kept strictly anonymous.
Click here to email
us.
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Every month we highlight a family
tradition, such as a recipe, a craft, or a cultural
holiday. Please suggest a tradition from
your family!
This month's family
tradition:
Autumn Harvest:
Pumpkins!
 Indigenous to the
western hemisphere, pumpkins have been grown in the
Americas for over 5,000 years. The orange fruit
was completely unknown in Europe before the time of
Columbus. In 1584, the French explorer Jacques Cartier
reported from the St. Lawrence region that he had found
"gros melons", which was translated into English as
"ponpions," or
pumpkins.
They're not just for
carving! Pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein,
zinc, and other vitamins, and may even lower
cholesterol. One gram of pumpkin seed protein
contains as much tryptophan as a full glass of
milk.
We'd like
to feature part of your heritage. Share a recipe,
tradition or family story. We'd love to print
it!
Click here to email
us. | |
