Examples of Famous People
There is a significant amount of examples of people who succeeded in their late 30s only. Stan Lee, for example, is known today as the creator of numerous comic books such as X-Men, Spider-Man, and many others. Marvel Studio produces very successful movies every year that exploit the universe created by him. Success came to Stan Lee when he was already 39, and the next few years were the most successful for this creative person (Feloni, 2014). However, far elder people have achieved prominent results in life as well. Peter Roget, for example, is known today as the inventor of the thesaurus. It happened in 1852 when he was 73 years old (Dufresne & Moore, 2012). It means that people can be creative during the entire life span.
Biological Process Supporting “Life Span Developmental Model”
Cognitive abilities of the human brain decline over the years due to the degradation of the brain tissue and the eventual decrease in the number of neurons in it. However, according to Moody (2010), “…intellectual decline in older people may be halted or reversed by specific interventions, such as training and education… the intellectual decline in later life is no means irreversible or inevitable” (p. 364). It makes the Life Span Development Model worthy of attention.
Changes in Society Brought by “Life Span Developmental Model”
In the case of a wide acceptance of the model, it is possible that the following two changes could have happened. The first change is the attitude towards the elderly as those incapable of intellectual work. It is possible that older people would have more opportunities to earn money and develop. The second change is special centers for the elderly education, recreation, and development but not nursing homes for the elderly. It could have happened to make the life of elderly people longer and more meaningful.
The List of Communication Techniques Suggested for Dementia Patients
It is very important to choose the appropriate communication techniques used to interact with dementia patients. Neutral communication is more damaging than even the negative one (Weitzel et al., 2011). The authors suggest the following communication techniques to use as the most appropriate ones for dementia patients. Asking permission means communication with dementia patients using the following procedure: if there is a necessity to measure blood pressure or give a shot, for example, it is necessary to ask such a patient about it instead of directly stating the intentions (Weitzel et al., 2011).
“Keeping explanations simple” (Weitzel et al., 2011, p. 221) means stating directly what is required from a dementia patient. “Asking questions slowly and supplementing with simple gestures facilitate communication” (Weitzel et al., 2011, p. 221) should help the communicator to provide a dementia patient with clear and understandable information from the first time. Finally, reminiscence can be used to reduce the stressful influence of the unknown environments and build a relationship with a dementia patient via asking simple questions about the past of such a patient since dementia patients usually have a good long-term memory.
The Most Promising Technique and Rationale
Asking permissions is the most promising technique as it allows adding significance to the communication process by showing respect to a dementia patient. Additionally, it can provide the communicator with the opportunity to get to know about issues disturbing a dementia patient that he or she may not sound otherwise. For example, if a nurse asks to give a shot and receives a negative reply, it is possible to ask why it cannot be done and receive information about some painful manifestations or other issues. It may help to treat such patients better.
References
Dufresne, S., & Moore, D. (2012, January 27). 5 famous people who succeeded long after they should’ve quit. Cracked.
Feloni, R. (2014). 20 people who became highly successful after age 40. Business Insider.
Moody, H. (2010). Aging: Concepts and controversies. New York, NY: SAGE Publications.
Weitzel, T., Robinson, S., Mercer, S., Berry, T., Barnes, M., Plunkett, D., … Kirkbride, G. (2011). Pilot testing an educational intervention to improve communication with Patients with Dementia. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 27(5), 220-226.