by Cori Hilsgen
news@thenewsleaders.com
You forget what you wanted when you walked into a room or you misplace your keys, phone or other items. Are those considered “normal” signs of aging?
Krisie Barron, a caregiver specialist from Embrace, will discuss what is considered “normal” and “not normal” aging at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 22 at the Church of St. Joseph Heritage Hall Parish Center, 12 W. Minnesota St., St. Joseph
She will discuss five ways we bring data into our brains to process the world around us and how to recognize and understand what normal/not normal aging looks like.
Barron said people experience the world around them through their senses of vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste. As we age, we process the world around in a gradually slower way.
“Our peak processing age is 25,” Barron said. “It is downhill from there. So as we age, those filters that we used to be able to slip in place before we said something we did not want to say out loud were quicker to insert themselves. Our vision changes in regards to our peripheral vision.”
Barron said when people age, their senses are affected slightly. When people have dementia, the way they process the world changes. If we have an understanding of what is normal and what is not normal, caregivers and practitioners can identify when something is not right and/or get an idea of how the dementia patients take in the world around them so they can work with what they have left instead of what the patient has lost.
She will also discuss some typical issues that occur in normal aging through the end of life for someone who is living with dementia.
“Everyone’s aging journey is different and every dementia journey is unique,” Barron said.
One in five elderly people is affected by dementia, Barron said. Within 10-12 years from now, as the elderly population increases, it will be one in two. Sixty percent of caregivers do not outlast the patients they are caring for.
The goal of the discussion workshops is to answer the questions most people don’t know how to ask.
Barron said she has found after attending her sessions, people feel much better about aging and caregiving for the people they support with dementia. People are trained to look at all the things the disease is stripping from them instead of looking at all the things patients have left. People can change their perception and realign expectations so they are more realistic for someone with dementia.
She quoted poet Maya Angelou: “When we know better, we do better….”
“Krisie does an excellent job of presenting the facts about aging and memory loss along with the practical information needed to make each day the best possible, said Marjorie Henkemeyer, Church of St. Joseph parish nurse.
Embrace, located in New London, is owned by Barron who is a speaker, trainer, consultant and coach. For additional information visit the embracingjourneys.com website.
The free discussion is funded under contract with the Central Minnesota Council on Aging as part of the Older American Act Program. No registration is required for the event.
Embrace caregiver specialist Krisie Barron will discuss what is “normal” and “not normal” signs of aging at 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 22 at the Church of St. Joseph Heritage Hall parish center.
