Age related disability

Contents

• General points on disability• Impact of vision loss• Impact of hearing loss• Impact of loss of mobility• Impact of memory loss and dementia• Impact of medication• Making connections• Looking after yourself

Aged related disability

• People are living longer• 700% increase in older people (75+) in next

50 years• Illnesses more likely to be chronic• 90% of over 75s have some clinical diagnosis• By age 85, 47% Australians will have a

disability requiring assistance• REMEMBER WE’RE ALL ON THE LIST

General points on disability

• Older people are not a homogeneous group• Speak to person directly• Age appropriate language• Wheel chair courtesy• Don’t take over• Ask if they need help and accept “No”• Allow for fatigue

Language of disability

• Is language important or is it all political correctness gone mad?

Language of disabilityUse Don’t usePerson with disability Disabled person

Person suffering from..An epileptic/paraplegicCrippledAbnormal

Impairment Handicap

Accessible parking/toilet Disabled parking/toilet

Seizure Fit

Uses a wheelchair Wheel chair bound

Person with an intellectual disability Mentally retarded

Non- disabled, person without disability Normal

Person with cerebral palsy Spastic, cripple

Case Study

• Di, the leader of the chat group, has been told that new member, Sandra, is vision impaired. She is eager to help and when Sandra arrives she grabs her by the arm and leads her to a chair. Di makes sure she addresses questions to Sandra but is disappointed that Sandra doesn’t seem to join in and sits looking bewildered.

Impact of vision loss

• Inadequacy of body language

• Inadequacy of visual aides

• Who is speaking?

• Who else is there?

Strategies• Identify who is there• Don’t shout• Don’t push or steer• Show where things are placed. Don’t move them• Say when you are leaving• Don’t pat assistance animals• Use large fonts • Microsoft “Ease of Access Centre”• Large key boards• Voice recognition software – Dragon, Claro

Case Study

• Gary is worried about having Leo in his computer class as he has been told that Leo is hard of hearing. He is concerned that if he has to shout it will spoil the ambience of the class.

Impact of hearing loss

• Few people have no hearing at all• 60% of lip reading is guess work• Hearing aides do not always restore a full

range of hearing

Strategies for hearing loss

• Ask if they lip read or would prefer written notes• Face to face and don’t cover mouth• Speak clearly but don’t exaggerate lip

movements• Don’t shout• Use alternative vocabulary• Cut down back ground noise• Use visual clues

Case study

• Joe picks up Mrs Black to take her for her appointments. She uses a Zimmer frame, walks very slowly and is hard of hearing. Joe is very patient but she complains about his driving the whole journey, and never says please or thank you. Joe thinks she is very ungrateful but also wonders if it is something he’s done to offend her.

Impact of physical disability• Not just wheelchairs• Not just legs• Decreased muscle tone • Pain• Fatigue• Access

• Handrails• Ramps• Doorhandles • Door widths• Desk heights• Parking and toilets• Kitchen

Strategies for physical disability

• Allow frequent breaks - fatigue and bladder control

• Allow for absences• Alternative technology – keyboards, track

balls, head pointers, sticky keys, • Tablets• Wheelchair courtesy

Case study

• Vera never misses Book Club each month. She never seems to have read the book, and she has difficulty remembering people’s names. There are people on the waiting list to join the club and the facilitator wonders if this is the right activity for Vera.

Impact of memory loss

• Normal age related memory loss– Occasionally forgetting where things are left that are

used regularly.– Forgetting names of acquaintances. – Occasionally forgetting an appointment.– Having trouble remembering what’s just been read, or

the details of a conversation.– Walking into a room and forgetting why.– Becoming easily distracted.– Not quite being able to retrieve information “on the tip

of the tongue.”

Strategies for working with memory loss

• Break tasks into small steps• Make lists• One instruction at a time• Remove distractions• Reflection and review• Check for understanding• Repetition and rehearsal• Be patient – people with normal age related

memory loss can learn

Impact of dementia• May have times of lucidity• May have difficulty finding a word• May talk fluently but with no sense• May not understand what you say• May lose sense of social conventions• May no respond with appropriate emotions• May constantly repeat behaviours or as ask the same

questions

Strategies for people with dementia• Remain calm and talk in matter of fact way• Live with their reality• Body language, tone of voice, facial

expressions important• Short sentences, one idea at a time• Allow time for what you say to be understood• Maintain routine and consistent approaches• Allow time to speak• Talk without questions

What not to do

• Don’t argue

• Don’t order around

• Done tell them what they can’t do

• Don’t be condescending

Effect of medication

• Side effects may include:– Lack of motivation– Inappropriate emotions– Disorganised thought– Concentration problems– Anxiety– Tremors

Strategies

• It’s not you – don’t take personally• Encourage small achievements• Allow for frequent breaks• Acknowledge frustration• Stay calm• Minimise distractions• Negotiate realistic tasks

Making connection

• Discover their social style• Share information• Model social skills• Introduce to others but not all at once• Done answer for someone• Biscuit power• Define your relationship - boundaries

Look after yourself

• There will be times when you feel dispirited, frustrated, overwhelmed.

• This is normal BUT do not react negatively– Take a break– Find someone to talk to

Handy Apps• The Vision Australia website has a huge number of apps which can be used with VoiceOver technology

http://www.visionaustralia.org/living-with-low-vision/learning-to-live-independently/using-technology-and-computers/help-yourself!-technology-podcasts-and-resources/all-about-apps

• Glide Video texting: Taking the deaf community by storm - SMS but in Auslan

• Dragon: Voice recognition program

• Claro PDF: Speaks back accessible text PDF files with high quality speech and highlights text so you can follow the words as spoken

• Pages: a document maker which can be easily converted to Word or Pdf for transmission to other devices

• Find My Friends: a way to share a location with other. Friends who share their locations appear on a map so the user can quickly see where they are and what they’re up to.

• • WhatsApp Messenger: a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows exchange of

messages without having to pay for SMS. WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia and allows these phones to message each other