TedTalk by Alanna Shaikh

I am doing my neuro note on the Tedtalk, done by Alanna Shaikh, How I'm Preparing to get Alzheimer's. Alanna started out telling about her dad and how he meant so much to her. He was a college professor, bilingual, her hero, and her mentor. Alanna points out that Alzheimer’s is hereditary and that since it is in her family she is likely to also get it. Alzheimer’s isn’t something that someone can really avoid getting but instead of dreading the future, Alanna is trying to prepare herself for dealing with Alzheimer’s. She says that she is working on improving three things in her life: her hobbies, exercising more, and being a better person. When she talks about changing her hobbies, she explains that while dealing with Alzheimer’s the things that you are able to do are the things that your hands know how to do- like knitting and drawing. Next she addresses exercising more. In this section, Alanna talks about improving her strength and balance so that when she gets weaker she has longer before she is unable to do things. Lastly she talks about being a better person, like her dad. She says that her dad was somebody that once he lost everything else, people wanted to be around him because of the love that he showed people. I think this is a very good way to look at things when it comes to dealing with knowing that you have an increased chance for something. I think this is a good video to watch for people going into OT because it embraces the whole person and what they can do to help somebody in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.  

Shaikh, A. (2012, June). 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#t-357019