Once I was invited to a family dinner by a friend of mine. I came to my peer’s house and was introduced to the family, and I met the grandmother who looked young and active. Someone told me that she was at the age of the middle seventies, but I was surprised at how young-looking she was. Family relatives also said to me that she wears heels when going out, and when I met her, she could also talk about internet topics. From my point of view, she was an older person aging successfully.
Nevertheless, I used to slow down my speech when talking to her and tried to explain some things thoroughly. From an ethical perspective, the changes in behavior I did, were aimed to make the grandmother feel more comfortable and be on the same level of conversation. The rationale for taking these actions was based on my interactions with elderly people. As I noticed, cognitive function in the elderly that is related to language is not as fast as young people have. I also noted from the grandmother that her perception might be a bit weakened. These conclusions were supported by investigations that I read from Cavanaugh & Blanchard-Fields, who stated that the memory and attention of older adults are diminishing (2018). Analyzing the situation, I can say that what I could do is check with the family if it is needed to adjust behavior when talking with the grandmother.
Jane Fonda, in a TED video “Life’s third act,” helped me to explore the process of aging more profoundly (2011). I understood that a lot of aging people are not able to navigate through the elder age. Therefore, more aged people need to nurture spirit, do a life review to gain the meaning of their entire life. Elderly people can reflect on relationships they had during life and be able to alter their attitudes that can impact their neural paths positively and reset their life at its finish to get new wisdom.
Reference
Cavanaugh, J. C., & Blanchard-Fields, F. (2018). Adult Development and Aging (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Fonda, J. (2011). Life’s third act. TED. Web.