Joan Erikson On Old Age Summary

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As I was watching Joan Erikson’s “On Old Age” videos, I could not help but notice how intelligent as well as how articulate she was, she had a very large vocabulary. The reason this stood out to me is because, we literally just learned, in chapter 7 of our textbooks, that as we age we use simpler and fewer words. Our textbook says that “the changes in memory contribute in part to age-related losses in language.” (Whitbourne & Whitbourne, 2011) So when I started watching the first video, I expected her to use simpler and fewer words. Joan had a very strong vocabulary when she spoke, although, I did notice that she would repeat some things and she also would slow down when trying to recall things, but overall she seemed to be very intelligent. …show more content…

She did not associate someone's ability or inability to speak with their current state of mental activity. I understand that her husband was having issues communicating which is probably why she felt so strongly about it, but infants do not speak because they do not know how to speak because they have not learned how to speak yet. An older adult at some point was capable of speaking so when they get to a point where they are unable to use language then there it is clearly linked to their mental activity. However, I do agree that touch is a well-known way to soothe someone. We soothe infants when they are sad by holding them. When an older adult has lost the ability to speak, they are vulnerable so if we carefully observe their body language rather than just give up on them and do nothing. If it seems appropriate a simple pat on the back or a hug may make this person easier to communicate with in another way. I was not surprised with Joan Erikson's involvement in her husband's work. When you research the Erikson’s, Erik thought very highly of his wife and they shared the same beliefs. She was the main collaborator in Erikson’s theories. They wrote each stage as they were experiencing it until Joan’s husband died. She wrote the 9th stage as she was experiencing loss of her health and

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