Page 40 - Susan Taylor

A guide for family, friends and loved ones

in preparing for the effects of the growing

elder population …a Public Service from

“Those Who Care”

Dispelling Common Myths About Aging

Normal aging and the changes associated with it are rarely viewed Older people cannot learn complex new skills, and experience
as positive. We regard aging as a series of negative events that a decline in intellectual ability:
person must tolerate. Some myths, misconceptions, and negative Older adults are capable of learning new things, but the speed at
stereotypes about older people stem from our culture’s values and which they process information is slower. Healthy older adults show
beliefs. Our youth oriented society values intelligence, strength, and no decline, and sometimes show improvement in some cognitive
productivity - characteristics rarely attributed to older adults. Many skills, such as wisdom, judgment, creativity, and common sense.
people perceive older adults as senile, sick and making few worth- Most show a slight and gradual decline in other cognitive skills,
while contributions to society. such as abstraction, calculation, and verbal comprehension.

This stereotyping has propagated the development of many myths Most older people are sick and need help with daily activities:
about aging. Here are some common misconceptions about aging In fact, 80% of older people are healthy enough to carry on their
and the facts to help dispel them. normal lifestyle. About 15% have chronic health conditions that
interfere with their daily lives, and another 5% are institutionalized
Most older people are senile or demented: (though this figure is growing when consideration is given to the
Senility is an inaccurate term used to refer to dementing conditions rise in assisted living facilities throughout the country).
that are always caused by pathologic changes. Most people age 65
and older are not mentally 105 disturbed. Significant, progressive, Older people are set in their ways and cannot change:
cognitive impairments are a consequence of disease that affects People tend to become more stable in their attitudes as they age,
less than 5% of people age 65 to 74, and about 25% of people but they adapt to many social changes and changes in lifestyle. In
40 older than age 85. fact, older people may be required to change more frequently than
when they were young because of major events in their lives.
Most old people feel miserable and depressed most of the
time: Aging is normal part of human development. How a person
Studies of happiness, morale, and life satisfaction reveal that most ages depends on life experiences, available support systems, and
older people are just as happy as when they were younger. Only previous coping skills. Please try to understand what your clients
about one-third of older people show signs of depression. (care recipients) are experiencing as they move through their aging
process. Your understanding of their situation will allow you, and
Older people cannot work as effectively as young people: your caregivers, to provide service that is significantly more client/
On the contrary, studies show that older workers produce more care recipient focused, which is a by-product of the relationship you
consistent output and have less job turnover, fewer accidents, and and your caregiver have built with the client/care recipient.
less absenteeism than younger workers have.