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Youths Learn About Alzheimer's

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By MEGAN HUSSEY

Tribune correspondent

Published: March 22, 2009

LAND O' LAKES - When Joyce Simard, a geriatric consultant and Alzheimer's specialist, was featured on a radio show a few years ago, the host confided that his father had the disease and that his children didn't want to visit their grandfather.

"They think that because he doesn't remember their names, he doesn't love them anymore," he told her.

That motivated Simard, of Land O' Lakes, to reach out to children to help them understand Alzheimer's.

Simard has the background for the job. She has worked in the long-term care industry since 1978 and has spoken internationally about Alzheimer's.

Using the pen name of Grandma Joyce, she wrote a book, "The Magic Tape Recorder," that addresses aging. At the invitation of school tech specialist Marc Seligman, she recently presented the book to second- and third-graders at Sanders Memorial Elementary School and donated 100 copies of the book to the school district.

"Alzheimer's disease affects 5 million Americans; that means a lot of grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles have this disease," she said. "I'm here to educate the children, to help them understand what memory loss is, to make the fear go away."

She asked if anyone had grandparents who were really old, and many did - some in their 80s and 90s.

Things change as you get older, she explained. When people grow up, they can marry, own a car and get a credit card, she said. As they grow much older, they may start to have problems with their vision, hearing or memory.

"When someone has a big memory problem, it's not like you forgetting your homework at home," she told the students. "A person with Alzheimer's might not be able to remember their last birthday, but they still remember what they learned when they were younger, when their 'magic recorder' was still on."

Children can help their grandparents remember by bringing them common objects that will jog their recollections, Simard said. Then she showed them how a toy car could remind an older person of her first convertible or a Barbie doll dressed in a wedding dress of her wedding day.

Simard said her book has garnered a positive response from parents and children.

"Kids have written me letters saying that, after reading the book, they want to visit grandma and grandpa again," she said.

For information about "The Magic Tape Recorder," visit www.grandma joyce.com.

Keyword: Grandma Joyce, for more photos of Simard's visit with Sanders Elementary students.

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