Biopsychosocial Interview: My Grandmother's Life
Mary is my eighty-six years old grandmother that lives in Seal Beach, California. She has so far lived a full life and even with her age she is still a very intelligent and strong woman. Later adulthood the longest segment of the life span, starts at age sixty-five. In my grandmother’s case she is in the old-old age category which starts at the age of seventy-five. In the interview the questions focused on three specific aspects including: Physical development, social development and biological development. Each aspect deals with a certain part of a human’s life but as life goes on these aspects can change dramatically. Physical development is the first aspect that is noticeably changing. The physical change includes appearance, strength and endurance. Physical development also is the
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activities a person does on a daily basis.
My grandmother lives in a retirement home called Leisure World, which is a community for people fifty-five years and older. She pays for her own housing and has the independence to do what she wants with no schedule that she has to follow. She believes that nursing homes are “the worst place to be” and the nurses are abusive and neglect the patients (M. Flaherty, personal communication, September 28, 2013). Because she has so much independence she has a lot of time on her hands to do what she wants. She likes to go out with friends and socialize at the theater or at social gatherings. She enjoys reading tons of books and watch TV occasionally. She likes to play with technology including her computer and I pad that she is still learning how to use. Mary Flaherty doesn’t miss working but she does miss the income that she was given. The social security checks that she is given are barely enough for her to afford her living expenses. Older people are seen as useless to the development of society instead of the wisdom and experience that they
hold. Social security pays for the retired people that have worked many years and the money given is minimal to the amount of hours put in working. Physical change has been easy to cope with because she always keep a positive mind set, insuring that it is all normal changes. Dealing with health has been easy for Ms. Flaherty because nothing dramatic has occurred with her body. She has a few pills and many vitamins to take daily. Death is definite in her eyes and doesn’t think that people should dread over something that happens to everyone. She decides that she will make the most of everything she does and to keep positive.
The next type of development that occurs is social development which is the interactions a person has between others in the same environment. Since Ms. Flaherty doesn’t drive any longer because she believes that once a person hits eighty they should no longer drive for the safety of others, she uses the bus. The bus is specifically for the retirement home that Ms. Flaherty lives in and the route takes her anywhere in a few miles radius including the grocery store, book store, and shopping centers. Also her family is always more than willing to give her a ride anywhere that she needs to go. Even though she has all this transportation at her despoils, she doesn’t get out as much as she use to when she was younger. Luckily for Ms. Flaherty her retirement home has a ton of different social activities that she can get involved with for free. There is a theater that she attends weekly along with dance lessons, meetings for her community, and creative classes that teach her how to sew and knit. There are many activities that she use to do when she was younger that she doesn’t anymore including dating because she things that people at her age are too old. Every year Ms. Flaherty makes sure to get out voting on concerning issues and her views have changed as she got older and more involved. Health insurance is very important for old-old adults because so many health issues are occurring. Ms. Flaherty has HMO and it covers almost everything medication for the most part, transportation to and from hospital and any therapy needed. Being an independent women, keeping busy and keeping a modern outlook on life and not looking back is what defines Ms. Flaherty and her accomplishments in life. Having strong family ties and knowing that she is not alone makes her life complete. Biological Development is the physical change that an older person starts to develop with their body. The first physical change that Ms. Flaherty noticed was that her energy was starting to slow down and taking longer walks was harder on her body. The first realization she had that she was getting old was in her forties and she was very upset but know when she thinks back to it, it makes her laugh. When she was younger the standard stereotypes made about older people were that they are too weak, their bones break and they lose their memory easily. Ms. Flaherty has realized that it is not all true and she is still very health of age eighty six years old. Her memory is not as sharp as it once was and is forgetful at times but has not lose any huge chucks of her memory. Ms. Flaherty’s body isn’t the same either and her back hurts on a regular basis and she has to be careful with her arthritis. Her balance is off at time and that is why it is hard for her to dance. There are always good days and bad days and remembering to take medicine is key. Ms. Flaherty does not fear death but embraces the thought that soon she will be up in heaven with all of her loved ones.
Old-old people are underestimated and seen as burdens to society. They are in fact full of wisdom and have a lot to teach the younger generations. The physical, social and biological development of a human has many stages and in this case the developments are focused on old-old people. My grandmother always keeps a positive outlook on life and makes sure that she does not regret anything in her life and that she is loved. Older people are pushed aside in life and the care for them is thinning out. Social workers have a duty to make sure that their voices need to be heard.
References
Kirst-Ashman, & K. Zastrow, C. (2010). Biological development, social development and physical development. Understanding Human Behavior and the SocialEnvironment,7-8.
activities a person does on a daily basis.
My grandmother lives in a retirement home called Leisure World, which is a community for people fifty-five years and older. She pays for her own housing and has the independence to do what she wants with no schedule that she has to follow. She believes that nursing homes are “the worst place to be” and the nurses are abusive and neglect the patients (M. Flaherty, personal communication, September 28, 2013). Because she has so much independence she has a lot of time on her hands to do what she wants. She likes to go out with friends and socialize at the theater or at social gatherings. She enjoys reading tons of books and watch TV occasionally. She likes to play with technology including her computer and I pad that she is still learning how to use. Mary Flaherty doesn’t miss working but she does miss the income that she was given. The social security checks that she is given are barely enough for her to afford her living expenses. Older people are seen as useless to the development of society instead of the wisdom and experience that they
hold. Social security pays for the retired people that have worked many years and the money given is minimal to the amount of hours put in working. Physical change has been easy to cope with because she always keep a positive mind set, insuring that it is all normal changes. Dealing with health has been easy for Ms. Flaherty because nothing dramatic has occurred with her body. She has a few pills and many vitamins to take daily. Death is definite in her eyes and doesn’t think that people should dread over something that happens to everyone. She decides that she will make the most of everything she does and to keep positive.
The next type of development that occurs is social development which is the interactions a person has between others in the same environment. Since Ms. Flaherty doesn’t drive any longer because she believes that once a person hits eighty they should no longer drive for the safety of others, she uses the bus. The bus is specifically for the retirement home that Ms. Flaherty lives in and the route takes her anywhere in a few miles radius including the grocery store, book store, and shopping centers. Also her family is always more than willing to give her a ride anywhere that she needs to go. Even though she has all this transportation at her despoils, she doesn’t get out as much as she use to when she was younger. Luckily for Ms. Flaherty her retirement home has a ton of different social activities that she can get involved with for free. There is a theater that she attends weekly along with dance lessons, meetings for her community, and creative classes that teach her how to sew and knit. There are many activities that she use to do when she was younger that she doesn’t anymore including dating because she things that people at her age are too old. Every year Ms. Flaherty makes sure to get out voting on concerning issues and her views have changed as she got older and more involved. Health insurance is very important for old-old adults because so many health issues are occurring. Ms. Flaherty has HMO and it covers almost everything medication for the most part, transportation to and from hospital and any therapy needed. Being an independent women, keeping busy and keeping a modern outlook on life and not looking back is what defines Ms. Flaherty and her accomplishments in life. Having strong family ties and knowing that she is not alone makes her life complete. Biological Development is the physical change that an older person starts to develop with their body. The first physical change that Ms. Flaherty noticed was that her energy was starting to slow down and taking longer walks was harder on her body. The first realization she had that she was getting old was in her forties and she was very upset but know when she thinks back to it, it makes her laugh. When she was younger the standard stereotypes made about older people were that they are too weak, their bones break and they lose their memory easily. Ms. Flaherty has realized that it is not all true and she is still very health of age eighty six years old. Her memory is not as sharp as it once was and is forgetful at times but has not lose any huge chucks of her memory. Ms. Flaherty’s body isn’t the same either and her back hurts on a regular basis and she has to be careful with her arthritis. Her balance is off at time and that is why it is hard for her to dance. There are always good days and bad days and remembering to take medicine is key. Ms. Flaherty does not fear death but embraces the thought that soon she will be up in heaven with all of her loved ones.
Old-old people are underestimated and seen as burdens to society. They are in fact full of wisdom and have a lot to teach the younger generations. The physical, social and biological development of a human has many stages and in this case the developments are focused on old-old people. My grandmother always keeps a positive outlook on life and makes sure that she does not regret anything in her life and that she is loved. Older people are pushed aside in life and the care for them is thinning out. Social workers have a duty to make sure that their voices need to be heard.
References
Kirst-Ashman, & K. Zastrow, C. (2010). Biological development, social development and physical development. Understanding Human Behavior and the SocialEnvironment,7-8.