Emily's TED Talk Analysis

Hello lovely readers!

This post is going to serve as a TED Talk analysis for my CIS 112 class, however, the talk I chose will also serve as a good explanation of what those with dementia want.  For those of you who do not know what a TED Talk is, it is a short speech (18 minutes or less) about a topic or issue usually given in a professional setting.  At least, that's what I have come to understand from watching TED Talks.  The link to the TED Talk I have chosen will be found below the analysis.  Now, let's get to it!

Analysis

Alanna Skaikh gave her TED Talk in June of 2012 at TEDGlobal 2012 regarding how she is preparing for Alzheimer's disease (link found below video).  Her speech is titled "How I'm preparing to get Alzheimer's".  She begins by stating that her father has Alzheimer's and how it has affected his everyday living.  From how she presented the topic and the statistics she gave, it can easily be assumed that the audience is fairly aware of Alzheimer's and dementia.  When first hearing her speak, I would assume that they were probably thinking that they would be hearing about Alzheimer's prevention, however, Skaikh threw a curve ball and instead spoke of how she is getting ready to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the future.

She brought up many points as to why she was readying herself rather than trying to prevent the disease - although she is doing that as well.  One way in which she does this is through her powerful anecdotes of how Alzheimer's has affected her father.  Her father was a very intelligent man who regularly stimulated his cognitive processes, however, he still suffers Alzheimer's disease.  This very much supports her statement that prevention is not 100% effective when it comes to dementia-related diseases.  While she had no visual aids, her use of personal anecdote and statistics very effectively got her point across to the audience.

Skaikh's use of humor was also very effective.  She made fun of her inability to knit more than a blob of yarn and her lack of drawing skills, yet she used these examples to show that while she may not be good at doing things with her hands, it is important that her hands still know how to do them.  When our mind is stripped bare by dementia, our hands will still remember what to do.  She very aptly explains that all any of us really want is happiness in our state of dementia.  (This relates very much to my chosen topic of independence and dignity in dementia care.)

I believe her scare tactics also helped to get her message across.  By scare tactics, I mean that she gave the cold, hard truth about Alzheimer's and dementia.  She did not leave anything out, and even went so far as to claim that we are all scared of dementia.  Skaikh used the example of her father, a very intelligent and active man, to show that dementia does not care who you are or how you live, because it will find you.  This bluntness really set the audience on edge and forced them to listen to her message.

In all, I believe that Alanna Skaikh gave a very effective presentation about preparing for dementia.  She made great use of personal anecdote and statistics to get her point across.  However, every presentation can use improvement.  In Skaikh's case, I would say that she could improve on visual aid.  This goes for both hand motion and objects/pictures.  Visual aid would greatly enhance her presentation, because she would not only appeal to visual learners, but also show the exact effects that dementia has had on her family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8FyHI00ELY

Angela's Third Reflection

I've been to the Best Friends Daycare center a few times now and while I didn't have the chance to bring my flute with me every time, when I have it's always been a great experience. Before my second visit, I made sure that I went home to pick up all my old solos that I thought I could still play as well as a book of Disney tunes and a stand before going to play for all of the participants. Not only were they one of the most supportive crowds I'd ever had, clapping and complimenting me after every song even if I messed up a few times but they'd come up to me afterwards and tell me over and over again just how much they appreciated my playing. There was even one day when, after I'd finished playing a song, one of the old ladies was in tears and said that my playing was beautiful and reminded her of her husband.

On top of that, after I played one of the male participants came up to me afterwards to ask where I was from. It wasn't until after I told him I was actually born in America that I realized that he was really hoping I'd say something like China or Japan so that I might relate to his stories about his Army days in Japan. The same man also likes to tell a story about the one time a bird got out of their cage in the daycare center and how it was a crazy day with people trying to chase it down. Even though it's an interesting story to listen to, I've found that he tells it almost every week and wonder just how often he tells it since I'm not there that often.

I really think that Best Friends is a great place for people with Alzheimers to go during the day because not only do they have somewhere to go when their families are busy but they can be around other people with situations similar to theirs and extremely supportive volunteers and staff there. One of the members of the staff there is extremely peppy all the time and you can tell that she works hard at her job to make sure all of the participants are happy and comfortable while they’re there, which is something I really admire.

Angela's Second Reflection

At this point we’ve made infographics, written argumentative essays and some of us are even preparing TED Talks about our service learning locations. Personally I’ve decided not to do my TED Talk on Alzheimer’s research although it’s definitely an important topic that people need to be informed about.

Based on the fact that every 66 seconds someone in the United States alone develops Alzheimer’s it’s extremely important that we put forth an effort to get people more educated about the subject and also come up with a cure if at al possible. As the 6^th leading cause of death in the US lots of research is necessary to make a cure possible and to prevent it but with so many of the patients with the disease being no longer capable of making their own decisions, it’s difficult to decide whether it’s ethical to make decisions about things, such as research, on their behalf.

In my opinion, it’s best to not make decisions for patients who can’t do it themselves in regards to participating in research that has unknown results unless it’s therapeutic treatment. Therapeutic treatment meaning that there is a large chance that it only has positive effects and no negative results. I also don’t think it’s right to make decisions about invasive research such as surgery into the brain for patients either. The best way to avoid all these problems, however, is to allow the patient to create an advance directive as soon as they’re diagnosed so that they can make their own decisions about treatment in the future so that their wishes can be best carried out and respected. Although it’s not possible for every patient to do this, as long as patients are diagnosed early enough I think it’s possible to decrease the ethical issues related to Alzheimer’s research.

Emily's Video Reflection

Hello lovely readers!

This will be a video reflection rather than a text post, so I hope you enjoy my thoughts (well, words in this case).  Also, I apologize for how creepy it looks, but for some reason YouTube decided to use this particular frame as the preview.

The link back to the infographic can be found here.  Also, if the video is not loading for some reason, the link to the YouTube channel can be found here.

Katelyn's Third Reflection

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Hello, all, and welcome to another installment of my time volunteering with Best Friends. This week, one of the participants at Best Friends celebrated her 100th birthday. I am completely blown away by the different degrees of being "alive and well" that the participants have. Some are incredibly slow and low energy, while others, like the woman who celebrated her 100th, are upbeat, energetic, and all about moving and dancing around. The participants just go to show how incredibly unpredictable the process of aging and the deterioration of the brain with Alzheimer's are.  

"Dixie" lyrics, drawn on by participant

Recently, my gerontology class about aging has been discussing mental diseases and the way the brain changes with age. This topic relates so well to my TED Talk for class, as well as my volunteering. In our class, we’ve been exploring how Alzheimer’s causes almost irreversible memory loss, with the exception of music triggers. For many individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s, music spurs memories from earlier in their lives, otherwise forgotten. I have witnessed this effect myself many times, but just this week at Best Friends, it really sunk in. There is one particular participant who sits in the corner all day, silent, until it becomes time for music and singing, at which point he lifts his head, and says one word with conviction: “Dixie”. One of the songs in our song book of lyrics is called “Dixie” and always makes this man light up, smile, and participate for the duration of the song. Why? Because he is from the land of Dixie, and the song temporarily brings back sweet memories and joy. He’s so emphatic about the song that he always writes on the lyrics to draw attention to the words which have meaning for him.

It's so touching for me when the participants have moments of pure bliss, and for this man, this song is his moment of bliss. When I began volunteering, I had never heard any of the songs we sing because they are practically all from the time of the childhoods for the participants. However, I now know all the songs and look forward to singing along with the others at the top of my lungs because so many of their memories are held within the music. I'm so grateful that I'm getting to know these wonderful individuals, learn old songs, celebrate 100th birthdays, and help put smiles on their faces. Going to Best Friends is one of the highlights of my week, and I've decided that I'm going to continue volunteering over the summer, and I hope to increase the frequency and length of time. 

Until next time,

Katelyn

Lindey's second reflection

Hello bloggers!
       Lindsey here reporting from Best Friends day center. Today is your lucky day because I am going to give you the inside scoop on volunteering at such an amazing organization called Best Friends. Look at the picture shown to your right. I chose this picture because I think it is a great example of the interaction that occurs between the volunteers and participants at this program. We take the time to make the participants smile when they are visiting best friends and we always make them feel welcomed. Whether its enjoying ice cream together or singing songs you both know we incorporate fun in what we do. We give them a home away from home where they can meet new people and interact with different individuals. Contributing to an increase in good communications skills.
       This blog is going to give you the insight on my third time volunteering at this organization. On this visit, I truly felt connected to the participants. I went from coloring pictures for them to take home, to singing and dancing in the back room along with them. Seeing the smile on some of their faces just brought me joy and made me realize how much I enjoy helping those in need. The next day, they don't remember who you are, but I just take it as a brand new start to capture there attention all over again.  Most of the time you will walk in to see the same people, but here and there you will see new faces which means you will have to overcome new communication skills to fulfill successful communication with that individual. It isn't as hard as it sounds so don't let me scare you off! In order to have good communication you need to get to know the person fairly well; ask what they like or what they are interested in. It helps to pay attention to what activities they are participating in and most importantly how bad there condition is because people with mild alzheimer's are a lot easier to communicate then people with severe alzheimer's. You need know the stand point of the patient you are taking care of and find that relationship with them. With that being said, you also have to understand that they forget their short term memory, meaning that they could forget a sentence they said 5 minutes ago. In order to cope with this, you need to simplify your sentences and if the question is repeated, you need to state the same answer as you did before; doing this will help communication skills within the patient and help them comprehend things better.
-xoxo-
Lindsey

Vikram's Second Reflection

Hello readers, at this point I have visited my Best Friends several times, mostly on Friday afternoons during music time. For music time, everyone sings and most of the time a piano player lays down the beat while some residents play harmonica, a lost art. For me, it is not apparent that most residents have Alzheimer's Disease and I can remain ignorant to the fact. Mostly everyone seems so happy and aware. This brings up a discussion on the line at where normal age-related memory and brain function loss crosses into Alzheimer's Disease. Is there a gray area?

For our class, like you have probably seen in my group members' posts, we had to write an argumentative essay and create an infographic related to the matters at hand in our service organization. I wrote my paper on whether or not social activity could be used to combat or mitigate the progression of Alzheimer's Disease in a medical sense. My infographic about treatment is below: