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Local schoolchildren recently got an extra lesson. It was a lesson in helping those with Alzheimer's. Michele Skalicky reports.
On a recent afternoon at Bissett Elementary in Springfield, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders were treated to a special program...
Social Worker and Private Geriatric Consultant Joyce Simard of Florida, who was in town for an Alzheimer's Association Conference, visited their school to share stories and help them understand Alzheimer's Disease.
Grandma Joyce, as she calls herself, began visiting elementary schools after someone told her that his father had Alzheimer's, and he was sad that his father would never know his grandkids, and they would never know him.
"And so I assumed that Grandfather had died, and so I said, 'I'm so sorry. When did he pass away?' And he said, 'Oh, he's still alive,' and I said, 'And your children don't visit because?' 'Well, they don't know what to do when they're with him. He can't even remember their names so they think he doesn't love them.' And that just bothered me."
So, Simard set out to try to help children understand memory loss. She came up with the analogy of a tape recorder.
"Once you start talking about memory is like having the tape recorder in your head turned off so you can't remember what just happened, but the tape recorder was on when Grandma or Grandpa were younger, and so they can remember things from the past. And, as soon as you kind of explain that and encourage children to take something, I call it 'bring a thing,' when they visit an aging grandparent, then they have a reason to have some communication."
Simard encourages kids to take some favorite objects along—like a doll or a ball—to share with their grandparents. She also tells them to always remind the grandparents who they are in case they've forgotten, and she assures the kids that they can't catch Alzheimer's.
Simard's program is very interactive—kids get to volunteer to be a part of it, and she uses storytelling, singing and dancing to get her message across.
She's recently published a book, The Magic Tape Recorder, a Story About Growing Up and Growing Down, to try to spread her message even more, and she hopes she's making a difference.
"Alzheimer's disease robs the family of enough. I don't think it should also rob them of having a relationship with their grandchildren."
For KSMU News, I'm Michele Skalicky.
