Neuronote 4

For my neuronote I watched a Ted talk called How I'm preparing to get Alzheimers by Alanna Shaikh and I would recommend others to watch this video as well. In this talk Shaikh expresses that her father has Alzheimers and how she is preparing to get it as well since it is hereditary. She has watched her father battle with this disease and has decided to try to prepare if she is diagnosed in the future. She describes three ways she is changing her lifestyle to prepare in case she is diagnosed with Alzheimers. She is changing what she does for fun, working to build her physical strength, and trying to become a better person. She explains that as a caregiver for someone diagnosed with Alzheimers, she was trained to teach them to engage in activities that are familiar, open ended, and hands on. She explained that she normally likes to read and write, but she wouldn't really be able to do that after being diagnosed with Alzheimers. Therefore, she has started learning to enjoy more hands on activities including knitting, origami, and drawing. This really got me thinking about the services that an occupational therapist can provide. Although she also enjoys these hands on activities, she shouldn't have to completely disengage in the other original activities she enjoyed as well. This is where we as OT can step in and make a difference in the lives of these individuals. I started thinking back to what we had learned in class about the different stages of Alzheimers disease and how different things become harder as the disease progresses. I realized that at least for the beginning stages of Alzheimers, she should still be able to participate in the things that she truly enjoys doing even if they have to be adapted to make them more functional. Hearing how she was preparing to give up what she loved made me want to strive even harder to help each client that I come in contact with in the future to never have to completely give up what they love doing. Another area that she is improving to prepare for Alzheimers is improving her physical strength. She has started doing yoga, tai chi, and weight bearing exercises to improve her sense of balance and strength, so when her balance becomes impaired it will be stronger from the start and decrease much slower than if she didn't prepare. She also is working to become a better person, so that when all of her physical and mental skills have declined, her heart will still be pure. I chose this Ted talk on Alzheimers because I am very interested in the disease due to the fact that I know a few individuals with this diagnosis and am always eager to learn more about it. Through this video I learned about the thought process that goes into being a loved one who has seen first hand what this disease is capable of.

Shaikh, A. (n.d.). How I'm preparing to get Alzheimer's[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/alanna_shaikh_how_i_m_preparing_to_get_alzheimer_s?referrer=playlist-the_fight_against_alzheimer_s#t-344999