This page could have been called “Aging and Disability,” because sometimes the disability part comes early in life (even at birth) and sometimes it comes later (dementia). Through my adult life I have been very involved in both aspects.
LifeSPAN
For over twenty years I was involved with the non-profit organization LifeSPAN (Lifetime Secure Personal Assistance Network). My mother was a founding Board member, and I held almost every kind of role, including staff and Board member. Although LifeSPAN ended its non-profit status in 2022, you can visit our website to learn more about our work: https://www.lifespan-wa.org/ or read my LifeSPAN Blog:
Aging and Dementia
This topic has been close to home because I have spent more than twenty-five years living through the experience of dementia with my husband’s grandmothers in the 1990’s (one lived to age 101!), then my father-in-law from about 2004 till his death in 2010, and my stepfather from about 2010 till his death in 2013. Later my mother was diagnosed with dementia, though it showed up in a very different way for her. She passed away peacefully on August 2, 2020. Finally, my younger sister with Down’s Syndrome also developed dementia with seizures. She passed away peacefully on March 31, 2023.
I post here thoughts and resources that inform my journey with aging, not just my friends’ and relatives’ aging, but my own.
Here are some resources that I value: