Neuro Note #5
I chose to read the article "OT's Role in Helping Grandkids Understand Dementia" for this assignment. This article is from the Seniors Flourish website and is about a book that has been written to help grandchildren understand dementia. The book title is "Weeds in Nana's Garden" and was written by Kathryn Harrison based on her own life experiences with dementia. The inspiration for her book came from her own story with her mother. Kathryn's daughter was the one that made the association between the weeds that had grown in her grandmother's garden and how dementia affects the brain. The visual metaphor that she created was so helpful to her and her brother for understanding their grandmother and has proved to be helpful to many others who are grandchildren of someone who has dementia. This explanation also helped them to understand and be more confident in helping their grandmother and interacting with her. I thought this article was fitting to write about for my 5th neuro note since we just learned about it in class and because I have been in the same situation as Kathryn's children. My grandmother had dementia and for a child that can be challenging concept to understand. I was in high school when my grandmother starting showing the signs of dementia, so I was not as young as Kathryn's daughter but it was still difficult to understand. I remember going to visit my grandmother and on the way to her house I would wonder what we would talk about or maybe more of what we wouldn't talk about. I always felt like I would hold my breath when walking into her home and then feeling so relieved when she would light up at the sight of my brother and I because she knew who we were. The article brings up the topic that this disease affects all aspects of a person's life but also their families and families lives as well. Kathryn and her family received support from the Alzheimer Society of Canada while being caregivers for their grandmother. Kathryn's book also donates a portion of each proceed to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. From this article I learned that education about dementia is very important for people of all ages because it directly could effect how they are able to care for their own loved ones who have dementia. I would recommend this article to others, I found it very interesting and will remember it and Kathryn's book for my future OT career.
Reference
OT’s Role in Helping Grandchildren Understand Dementia. (2019, December 6). Seniors Flourish. https://seniorsflourish.com/kidsanddementia/
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