peachmanstewart

How to Make Your Summer Celebrations Sparkle by Including Elders

   Everything in me, body and soul, yearns for this time of year. The green grass, the budding trees, the garden. Maybe you don’t love spring with quite the same fervour, but most people look forward to the many celebrations and get-togethers of summer. It’s time to shed the layers and have some fun.     […]

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Some Practical Ideas for Addressing Ageism

   Myperfectresume.com is a website dedicated to helping people looking for a job. They walk them through the process of perfecting their resume and putting their best selves forward in their search.      A few years ago, they conducted an “Attitudes in the Workplace” survey in the U.S. of over 1,000 workers regarding ageism.

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How to Recognize Ageism in Every Part of Your Life

Does ageism matter? A few jokes and memes. People poking fun at their own infirmities? Should I lighten up?      It matters because ageism is the last “acceptable” prejudice. It occupies our society, our workplaces, our government, and is so invasive that we don’t recognize it a lot of the time. It becomes an

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How to Understand Ageism and Why It Should Scare You

    The meme contained a scowling older man holding a remote and yelling, “What channel is Netflix?”      Ha ha.      The message is clear: older people can’t figure out technology.      I receive many such memes, jokes, cartoons in my inbox. I’m not about to start a war with my

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How to Prevent Falls through a Healthy Lifestyle

Some days are life changing.      I was scheduled for my first hip replacement, and would have six sessions of physio after to help with my recovery. But I suffered from bone spurs on that hip–nasty little gremlins which jabbed me with hot pokers when I moved–and my doctor had sent me for a

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A Fall May Change Your Life in Surprising Ways

    Helen hadn’t felt well for several days. She’d been to her doctor, who told her she had a mild flu. She’d had her flu shot, and that’s why it was mild. He told her the normal things to do to recover, and she started to feel better, although still weak. On the fifth

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The Far-reaching Effects of Falls in the Elderly

    Janice sat at the dining room table, looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows to the garden. The pleasant view, the sun streaming in and her favourite lunchtime salad on the menu served to brighten her mood. Plus, her daughter would visit this afternoon, and perhaps one of her grandsons. She smiled as she got

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Looking for the Unmet Need in Supporting Elders With Dementia

    Gladys continually tried to escape her facility. Even though she lived in a pleasant environment with caring staff, good food and a variety of activities, she used every opportunity she could find to get away. Staff were at their wit’s end, and her family worried that she would hurt herself or get lost

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How to Help Your Elder With Dementia Negotiate Anxiety

   “I can’t stay for dinner. Daddy’s expecting me at home. Momma will miss me. I have to go.”      Laura’s agitation escalated as she squirmed in her wheelchair. A deep frown creased her face and she continued wringing her hands.       Laura lived in our TLC, an area of our home for

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9 Reasons Why Your Elder With Dementia Might Be Struggling

     “He’s coming again.” The care partner passing my desk said the words as if commenting on the weather, or telling me she was going for lunch. I knew exactly what she meant.      George loved to wander in his wheelchair, and if he made it past my desk, he would create havoc

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