Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a part of your life whether you have it or if someone you love has it. In either case, it has already changed certain parts of your life whether you know it or not and the changes will continue to happen in varying degrees over time. Two things are certain with PD, you will progress and it will be at your own pace. Everything else is up for grabs!

Intergenerational programs are most effective when facilitators skillfully stage the environment to promote interaction. Successful programs carefully design the physical space, the program, and related policies to be flexible. When the environment has been carefully designed to optimize small-group interaction, it serves to guide children and adults to explore and interact within it, thereby increasing learning and socialization.

Intergenerational programs are most effective when adaptive equipment is used as appropriate. There is a chance that clients in an intergenerational program will need adaptive equipment. The primary reason to consider adaptive equipment is to remove barriers to participation. Examples of adaptive equipment include pencil holders for slip resistance, magnifying glasses or digital projectors for better viewing, and chair supports or lifts for improved positioning. This equipment is often essential to engagement in the activity and with an intergenerational partner.

Facilitators document and communicate experiences to build on in future activities. Documentation starts with careful observation, then evolves into a display of learning processes. Documentation has grown in popularity as a way to review children’s work at various stages of completion. Photographs, work samples, transcripts of conversations, and comments accompany the display. This documentation is then shared with parents as well as discussed among teachers.

We tend to focus on the negative aspects of aging. Many of those are the exceptions, not the rule.

Stress comes in many forms. There are normal and predictable stressors, such as a new job, getting married, or moving.

Life expectancy has increased dramatically in the past 100 years: 1 in every 8 Americans is age 65 or older. For most, this means an increase in the number of healthy years. Chronological age differs from biological age. How will you age? What do you know about care options? Will you be responsible for others as they age?