Ageism: A Case Study

Self-Image
a) Physical

b) Psychological
Skin:
- Dry, wrinkles, sagging, folding
- Brown age spot,
- Increase fat in abdomen
- Thinning & gray hair,
- Facial hair in men decreased
- Upper lip hair present in women
Head:
- Loss of eyebrow hair in women
- Bushy eyebrows in men
Eyes:
- Decreased visual activity
- Reduced adaptation to darkness
- Sensitivity to glare
- Diminished light reflex
Ears:
- Decreased ability to hear
Nose & Sinus:
- Decreased sense of smell
- Increased nasal hair
Mouth & pharynx:
- Dentures
- Decreased sense of taste
- Occasional change of voice pitch
Musculoskeletal system:
- Decreased muscle mass and strength
- Bone demineralization
- Shortening of trunk
from intervertebral space narrowing
- Kyphosis (mostly in women)

- Independence
- May have insecurity about aging
- Introspective
- Individualistic
- May be in denial about aging effecting cognitive or motor abilities
- Many of the older adults have dry, wrinkly, sagging skin.
- Some of the older women had hair on their upper lip
- Most of the men had thinning gray hair
- Some of the older man had bushy eyebrows
- Some of them wore glasses and hearing aids
- Some of them wore dentures
- An older woman had kyphosis
- Workers had to repeat themselves to older adults
-
Social development - Attitudinal isolation: cultural or personal values, ageism makes it seem acceptable for older adults to be alone (example: young adults or adolescents avoiding interaction older adults)
- Behavioral isolation: an older adult is isolated from others because he or she displays socially unacceptable behavior
(example:)
- Presentational isolation: unacceptable appearance or judgments based on aging (example: avoiding an older adult because they look sick)
- Geographical isolation: territorial restriction that is a result of death of loved ones or life partner, urban crowding, rural life, or institutionalization (example: older adult is isolated from family because their family lives in another state)
- Involved social activities
- Inactive because of age related illness
- Retirement
- Volunteerism
- Developing new hobbies
- Experience death of spouse, family, or friends
- Loneliness
- Institutionalization (Long-term Care Facility)
- Strong social connection with family and friends - Groups of friends meet up at senior center
- Friends exercising together
- An older male volunteered in the kitchen at the center
- Some older adults did not participate in Zumba because age related changes to their
body
- Some of the older adults starting new hobbies like learning Italian, playing guitar, or meditation
- All of the older adults are retired Cognitive development - Alert and highly perceptive
- Decrease in short-term memory
- Long-term memory for newly learned information decreases with age (memory varies among individuals)
- Recall for distant experiences and procedural experiences remain the same - Most of the older adults were alert and highly perceptive
- An older woman forgot where she put her coat
- An older man discussed his previous occupation and why he enjoyed it
Sexuality
a) Physical

b) Psychological - Age related illness may cause decline sexual activity and desire
Women:
- Decrease in estrogen levels
- Vaginal dryness and thinning
- end of ovum production at menopause
- Vagina may become shorter and narrower
- bladder and urethra become more susceptible to irritation and bacterial infection
- Orgasm takes longer and may feel less intense
Men:
- Decrease in testosterone levels
- It may take longer for penis to become erect
- Erections may not be firm or last as long
- Gradual decrease in reproduction
- Ejaculation rakes longer and may feel less intense
- Takes longer for penis to become erect again after ejaculation

- Sexual desires still present
- Desire for intimacy
- Passionate and companionate love with romantic partners - Older couples holding hands and sitting next to each other.
- An older man pulled out a chair for his wife.
- An older couple danced together during Zumba

Communication - Many language skills are preserved
- Difficulty finding words (names of people, places, and objects)
- Difficulty understanding speech when speech rate is fast, the environment is noisy, or when they cannot see the person who they are talking to
- Speak in low volume
- Speech is slower
- Pauses or repetitions
- Decrease in syntactic abilities (organizing words into grammatically acceptable phrases and sentences)
- Reminiscence: recalling the past for the purpose of assigning new meaning to past experiences - Most of the older adults’ speech were normal
- Some of the older adults spoke in a low tone
- Some of their speech was slow
- Difficulty expressing thoughts in a clear manner
- Pauses in speech
- An older male reminisced about being able to dance
Gross and fine motor skills - Slowing of motor neuron transmission
- Decrease range of joint motion
- Slowed reaction time
- Difficulty with motor coordination
- Slow movements
- Instability with balance
- Poor posture
- Dependent on walkers or wheelchairs
- Difficulty grasping objects - Slow movements
- Decrease in range of movement
- An older woman was using a walker
- Some of the older adults had difficulty grasping a pen or game pieces
- Slow reaction time while following Zumba instructor’s movement