The 24th of February was the final day of the month for our volunteers, with March ringing in a new month full of experiences. On that day, we worked with our supervisor to host an event we'd been looking forward to all month, an ice cream social. To our surprise, the event didn't run as smoothly as we'd hoped. One would be surprised how demanding older adults can be when it comes to ice cream. If we took our eyes off them, or if they thought we were ignoring them, they'd be shouting in our direction until we stopped what we were doing to handle whatever situation for which they needed assistance. I was shocked to hear our supervisor normally conducted the entire ice cream social by herself!
After serving their ice cream, we brought the white board out and prepared to play Hangman again. During this game, I was able to pick up on some cognitive differences among older adults and younger adults which we discussed on February 13th. First of all, I noticed some differences in speed of processing. According to lecture, speed of processing peaks at the age of 25 and begins to wane thereafter. I definitely noticed this decline, as it took many of the residents much longer than it would have taken me to process what our supervisor was saying.
There were other things I noticed concerning several of the residents cognitive limitations. One resident, in particular, exhibited behavior which made me think of inhibition of cognition. When asked to guess a letter for the hangman puzzle, she covered her eyes while she considered what letter she'd choose. This made me think she may have had difficulty filtering out distractions in her environment.
This day, in particular, allowed me to thoroughly examine the older adults at The Renaissance and make mental notes about their cognitive abilities. It gave me ample time to draw conclusions regarding how they differ from me cognitively, which allowed me to strengthen connections between what I've learned in class and what I'm able to observe in the real world.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
2/18/12 - Bingo!
Saturday morning brought on another day for volunteering. My friend and I showed up at 10 a.m. ready to dive in and get to work. Upon arrival, our supervisor introduced us to another student and then began to show us some other things in the facility. We learned how to make announcements over the intercom (something I still don't quite know how to do) and gathered up some new equipment for us - the bingo supplies.
While gathering supplies, we ran into a resident, who I'll call Miss J, who had come down for coffee. At least, that's what we thought she had come down to get. It turns out she had come down to "play with the men." Upon hearing this, all four of us began to snicker and smile. She definitely changed my views on older adults not having much of a romantic life. So much for stereotypes, eh?
On that note, another stereotype I've seen disproved multiple times at The Renaissance is the stereotype that older adults are grumpy "old farts." This could not be further from the truth, at least in the assisted living facility. My friend and I were charged with gathering up a few of the ladies - the men were already in the dining room having coffee - to play trivia and, eventually, bingo. The women we encountered could not have been happier. They had smiles on their faces and were absolutely thrilled to see us and to spend time with us again.
Another stereotype I witnessed being disproved Saturday was the stereotype that older adults are frail or slow. When we adjourned to prepare bingo, we had to make sure we were ahead of the women for fear of being run down by the stampede. These ladies were serious about their bingo - I was stared down a few times when my calling was just a bit too slow. Volunteering, my previous views of the older adult population are continually being challenged and changed for the better. Each week brings new experiences, new knowledge, and new insight into the lives of the older adults at Renaissance.
While gathering supplies, we ran into a resident, who I'll call Miss J, who had come down for coffee. At least, that's what we thought she had come down to get. It turns out she had come down to "play with the men." Upon hearing this, all four of us began to snicker and smile. She definitely changed my views on older adults not having much of a romantic life. So much for stereotypes, eh?
On that note, another stereotype I've seen disproved multiple times at The Renaissance is the stereotype that older adults are grumpy "old farts." This could not be further from the truth, at least in the assisted living facility. My friend and I were charged with gathering up a few of the ladies - the men were already in the dining room having coffee - to play trivia and, eventually, bingo. The women we encountered could not have been happier. They had smiles on their faces and were absolutely thrilled to see us and to spend time with us again.
Another stereotype I witnessed being disproved Saturday was the stereotype that older adults are frail or slow. When we adjourned to prepare bingo, we had to make sure we were ahead of the women for fear of being run down by the stampede. These ladies were serious about their bingo - I was stared down a few times when my calling was just a bit too slow. Volunteering, my previous views of the older adult population are continually being challenged and changed for the better. Each week brings new experiences, new knowledge, and new insight into the lives of the older adults at Renaissance.
Friday, February 10, 2012
2/10/12 - Hangman, Anyone?
Today was day one of my volunteering career at The Renaissance. My friend and I volunteer as a pair, and when we arrived we were given the task of playing Hangman with some of the older adults, a fine group of women. We were in over our heads at first, being thrust into directing the event without much instruction besides being given couple of lists to use in the game, but soon it became a breeze.
Usually, one may think the older adults would have a hard time playing such a game because of the mental energy needed, but these ladies were the very definition of normal memory aging (which we discussed in class during the week). There was hardly a time when these women were at a disadvantage when compared to us, playing off each others' answers as if they were still in their 20s or even 30s. It was wonderful to see, and they all were so excited to play. One resident knew almost every answer before even half the letters had been discovered, and she let us all know.
At the end of our time at Renaissance today, the women thanked us warmly and gave us the gift of smiles and joy. It was beautiful, seeing how happy they were to simply have a chance to spend time with us. We cut up, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company for about two and a half hours, something I will value each and every week. I look forward to each and every new experience volunteering will bring.
Usually, one may think the older adults would have a hard time playing such a game because of the mental energy needed, but these ladies were the very definition of normal memory aging (which we discussed in class during the week). There was hardly a time when these women were at a disadvantage when compared to us, playing off each others' answers as if they were still in their 20s or even 30s. It was wonderful to see, and they all were so excited to play. One resident knew almost every answer before even half the letters had been discovered, and she let us all know.
At the end of our time at Renaissance today, the women thanked us warmly and gave us the gift of smiles and joy. It was beautiful, seeing how happy they were to simply have a chance to spend time with us. We cut up, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company for about two and a half hours, something I will value each and every week. I look forward to each and every new experience volunteering will bring.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Introduction: Whistle While You Work
When you think of "older adults," those over the age of 65 to many people, what comes to mind...? Nursing homes, shuffleboard, and insensitive names like "old codger" or "old
biddy" are a few things some people may think about when they think of
older adults. This blog aims to change all of that with anecdotes of my experiences with older adults in my community.
When I was told about Psychology of Aging, I wasn't sure what to expect. A class focused on older adults in our society? What could possibly be interesting about something like that? To my pleasant surprise, one aspect of the course was a service learning requirement - twenty to thirty hours over a ten week period as a component of our grade. A couple of weeks into the semester, we listened to presentations from a couple of organizations, and toured two assisted living facilities.
While there were parts of each opportunity that piqued my interest, upon touring The Renaissance, both an assisted living and memory care facility, I absolutely fell in love. The older adults there were lively, interesting, humorous, and absolutely nothing like the older adults I described in my introduction. What better way to disprove all of the things I've been told about older adults than to tell the world about my time with some of the most amazing older adults I have ever met? Over the next ten weeks (and likely much longer), this will be my goal. I hope to change peoples' minds about older adults, changing these people from a supposed burden to a wonderful blessing.
When I was told about Psychology of Aging, I wasn't sure what to expect. A class focused on older adults in our society? What could possibly be interesting about something like that? To my pleasant surprise, one aspect of the course was a service learning requirement - twenty to thirty hours over a ten week period as a component of our grade. A couple of weeks into the semester, we listened to presentations from a couple of organizations, and toured two assisted living facilities.
While there were parts of each opportunity that piqued my interest, upon touring The Renaissance, both an assisted living and memory care facility, I absolutely fell in love. The older adults there were lively, interesting, humorous, and absolutely nothing like the older adults I described in my introduction. What better way to disprove all of the things I've been told about older adults than to tell the world about my time with some of the most amazing older adults I have ever met? Over the next ten weeks (and likely much longer), this will be my goal. I hope to change peoples' minds about older adults, changing these people from a supposed burden to a wonderful blessing.
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