Take a strengths-based approach to cognitive change, says Baycrest social worker
Education on aging can shift public understanding and reduce fear of older people
Thursday March 11, 2010 -- Camille Jensen
A school in Cleveland is enlisting seniors who have dementia and other cognitive impairments to be mentors, historians and storytellers for children. Baycrest social worker Ruth Goodman says she’d like to see more of this type of approach, which values what people can still offer.

Goodman, who wrote Visiting with Elders, a handbook that shares strategies for meaningful relationships with people who have cognitive impairments, is promoting the idea that people view aging and memory loss in a different light.

She says people should understand dementia and cognitive changes as occuring differentially during the aging process, and take a strengths-based approach to better value the gifts seniors still have.

According to Goodman, the medical field and mass media have contributed to a pathological view of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which leads to misunderstanding, fear and stereotypes, and an underutilization of people as a result.

“I think in general often people who have cognitive losses are undervalued, they are talked about in a pathological way and in a disease perspective,” says Goodman, adding the most important aspect to creating meaningful relationships is to understand that people with memory loss still want to contribute, be useful and helpful.

“They still have strengths and abilities, so we need to figure out what those are and acknowledge them and validate them and support them.”

For instance, Goodman says Baycrest, among others in the field, has learned that cognitive impairment is domain specific. This means a person may not remember something about their past but will still know who they are and what’s important to them.

They’ve also learned that a person’s emotional capabilities remain intact as they go through all stages of cognitive loss.

People who have cognitive impairments are receptive to social and emotional cues and are often great conversationalists. Focusing on the present and conversing in simple and straightforward statements can also enhance relationships, she says.

Since sharing these views in her second edition handbook, a free online resource available at Baycrest.org, Goodman says she’s received a large amount of feedback from people who are using the strategies and seeing positive results, a fulfilling motivation for the author.

While the book was published in 2006, a recent Toronto Star article published in December has spurred an “avalanche” of requests for the print edition nationally and in the United States.

Goodman says the book’s recent success is more than likely highlighting a societal change, as more people grapple with aging family members and search for helpful resources.

“It resonated with so many more people, and that’s why we got the response we did,” she says.

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