RECENT POSTS
6 Ways to Help Older Adults January 24, 2024
LifeBio impacts wellness and helps people create a lasting LEGACY January 10, 2024
There was No One Else Like Richard July 02, 2023
Hope for the Future
“Our value lies in what we are and what we have been, not in our ability to recite the recent past.” – Homer
While historians debate whether the Ancient Greek poet Homer suffered from Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, it is a fact that right now more than 6.2 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease. With those numbers projected to more than double by 2050, the need for better ways to diagnose and treat the disease is abundantly clear: even if it hasn’t impacted your family yet, there is a very good chance it will. November is both National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month as well as National Family Caregivers Month, and as Alzheimer’s cases rise with the number of older Americans, we want to honor those family members providing care.
READ MORE
Nostalgia for Emotional Wellness: How Remembering the Past Helps You Live in the Present
Between the falling leaves, the pumpkins out on stoops, and the smell of warm cider, autumn feels like a natural time for reminiscing. It is a time of year when it is easy to let your mind slip into the past and remember Halloween costumes from when you were little or the fragrance of your mother’s apple crumble in the oven. Reminiscing like this can feel a little sappy, a little foolish sometimes. We’re told to focus on the future; keep moving forward. But what if focusing on your past helped you move toward your future with greater resilience, energy, and mental wellbeing? What if remembering the past actually motivated you to live a fuller, better life in the here and now?
READ MORE
LifeBio Secures Second National Institute on Aging Grant; Research Will Use Artificial Intelligence as a Possible Diagnostic Tool for Alzheimer's
LifeBio, a leading age-tech solutions company using reminiscence therapy and life story work for social engagement of older populations, announced its second National Institute on Aging (NIA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant of $448,462 to focus on the Alzheimer's disease population.
READ MORE
A Change of Seasons: Reflections on Healthy Aging Month
Autumn is a natural time to think about aging. We see the leaves change color as the earth readies itself for transformation. It seems right that September is appropriate for Healthy Aging Month. The phrase “healthy aging” brings many things to mind: maintaining muscle mass, flexibility, a balanced diet and disease prevention. But there are other, less tangible parts of healthy aging that come to mind as well — social engagement, mental wellness, a sense of purpose and legacy.
READ MORE
5 Tips for Using Reminiscence in Health Care and Hospice
Consider starting a life stories program in health care settings or hospice care for a number of reasons.
1) Reminiscence impacts all dimensions of wellness -- especially the emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and social aspects. Even the physical dimension is touched with reports of lowered pain and increased brain activity.
What are Reminiscence Methods?
LifeBio uses Reminiscence Methods ("RM") to connect, engage, and enrich lives. Reminiscence Methods are appropriate for people of all ages and levels of cognitive function when tailored to their specific needs. Reminiscence Methods are most commonly used with seniors and is “the discussion of past activities, events and experiences with another person or group of people, usually with the aid of tangible prompts such as photographs, household and other familiar items from the past, music and archive sound recordings”. [1] RM use prompts to find common ground and make connections between individuals who may or may not have cognitive deficits.
READ MORE
Sisters AND Friends!
"I was the youngest of five children – four girls and one boy – with my brother Charles being right in the middle! My two older sisters and Charles were too old to be my playmates, but my sister, Mary, and I played together often."
READ MORE
Treasured Memories of Farm Life in Ohio…
“I was born in 1943, and at the age of two, my family and I moved to a 50-acre farm in Fowler, Ohio. Our family of six lived in a large farmhouse, and along the U-turn gravel drive there was a big barn, corn crib, and a chicken house. Upstairs there were three bedrooms. My older brothers shared one room, and so did my younger sister and me. We had to walk through Mom and Dad’s room to get to our room. There was no heat in our bedroom until Grandpa and Dad put a small radiator in the room. Boy, was that a great addition! In our playroom, I vividly recall a wall that had been papered using nothing but old calendar pictures.
In 1963, I Started Teaching Third Grade
“In 1963, I started teaching third grade at Sacred Heart School in Lombard, Illinois. At that time, you did not need a teaching degree in a Parochial School (I had begun pursuing my teaching degree, but I had not finished yet). My first class had 54 students.
READ MORE
A Career Change - After 20 Years of Nursing!
As a child, I vacillated between wanting to be a teacher like my grandmother and wanting to be a nurse because of the cool uniforms. Nursing won out after I read the Sue Barton and Cherry Ames novels.
READ MORE