| Age Page | 
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| by Bonnie Jewell |
Age and the Need for Changing Services
As a person agres, needs begin to change. As the needs change for individuals with developmental disabilities, services must also change. There are four goals to meet the basic service needs for the elderly individual with developmental disabilities:
- Economic security
- Access to adequate health services
- Access to needed teaching
- Access to advocacy and, if needed, guardianship
Economic Security:
A lot of elderly people have a difficult time making ends meet. With the developmentally disabled, old age can be an especially uncertain time financially. Often times they are children of elderly parents who have a fear of leaving a son or daughter with no way to provide for themselves economically. Economic security starts with affordable houseing, decent food, and proper medication. Real economic security takes financial planning. Encouraging families to start the process early will be helpful.
Access to Adequate Health Services:
Access to adequate health care is of special concern for elderly individuals with developmental disabilities. These individuals often have additional health concerns due to those disabilities. There is additional danger of medication interaction and especially an increased risk due to long-term psychotropic drug usage. The longer a person takes a psychotropic medication, the greater the chance of permanent side effects. Closely monitoring individuals who are on psychotropic meds is very important. We must be alert to any symptoms that may indicate a change in health status.
Access to Needed Teaching:
We help the elderly person adjust to changing health care needs by teaching them new skills. They may need instruction on how to safely use new assistive devices, such as glasses, hearing aids, walkers, or canes. Learning to use these things may be difficult for your individuals and may require much time and patience on the caregiver's part.
Access to Other Needed Services:
With age and changes in health status comes a need for additional services. Taking advantage of physical, occupational or speech therapy may be of value. Physical therapy can assist with the teaching of walkers, wheelchairs, canes, or exercises to maintain stability. Occupational therapy may be able to recommend or create an adaptation to assist the individual so he/she may continue to work or live as independently as possible for as long as possible.
As we age, we often lose people who are close to us and may need assistance from a grief counselor to adjust.
Conclusion:
Young or old, disabled or not, if a person's basic needs for adequate health services for teaching and other services are not being met, there is little opportunity for a person to gain the self esteem that comes from living in the community with dignity.
Reference: Aging 1: Meeting Basic Needs Program Guide for Monaco and Associates Incorporated. Distributed by: Program Development Associates at www.disabilitytraining.com.
