by Ted Sherman

Created on: June 19, 2009

Of course, young children should be brought to visit grandparents who are afflicted with Alzheimers. Patients suffering from that tragic condition are still viable members of their families, and deserve the same consideration as anyone else who is ill or has been injured. Why should they be ignored? Is it right to prevent young children from visiting parents and other relatives who've been wounded in war or injured in auto accidents?

Of course, parents must use common sense in considering such visits. If they believe the experience will be too traumatic for the small children, then they should make the visits very brief. They may choose to omit the visits entirely until parents feel the children are mature enough to endure the experience. Spending their last days confined and in confusion is enough of a disaster for the elderly, and all efforts should be made by family members to help make the ordeal as comfortable as possible.

There other reasons for encouraging visits to Alzheimers patients by all members of the family. As a volunteer who's had ten years of experience with aged people in nursing homes, I found there were many stages of Alzheimers or dementia in the patients. Some still recognized family members all the time, some had difficulty remembering names and faces, and, of course, others in the latter stages of dementia were profoundly affected. However, even those unfortunate people deserve consideration from family members.

If the patent has some recognition of family members, they should visit and bring their small children with them. Additionally, it's a medical fact that even the most profoundly affected Alzheimers patient reacts to positive stimuli. Many of my fellow volunteers brought their own small children and grandchildren to participate in the nursing home activities for an hour or so on visiting days. Others brought family pets, including cats, dogs, parrots and other small animals.

In my experience, all of the nursing home patients, even those who rarely reacted to anything around them, were visibly very happy to see the small children and to pet and hold the animals. In summary, Alzheimers patients, as with those injured in auto accidents and wars, should be treated with consideration. The sooner children of all ages are made to become aware of them, the better the children will be prepared to cope with their own challenges throughout their lives.

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