Learn how to effectively plan and deliver activities for the growing number of older people with developmental disabilities. Activities With Developmentally Disabled Elderly and Older Adults is an innovative new book that aims to stimulate interest and continued support for recreation program development and implementation among developmental disability and aging service systems. Particularly useful for human service professionals working in the areas of developmental disabilities and aging, this practical volume will also be of interest to researchers, educators, and students interested in recreation services with older adults who are developmentally disabled. The older adult population with developmental disabilities (DD) continues to grow rapidly, yet little is known about their needs and interests. In this book a wide variety of authors share innovative and creative strategies for programming activities with older adults with DD. They focus on diverse issues, services, and programs from researchers, educators, and practitioners, represented varied disciplines. Each chapter demonstrates the diversity that makes serving a growing number of older individuals with DD both challenging and rewarding. Among the wealth of information you will find in Activities With Developmentally Disabled Elderly and Older Adults are discussions on the characteristics of this population and challenge activity professionals to seek innovative program strategies to appropriately serve individuals with DD companionship/friendship, physical functioning, and retirement adjustment issues that confront older adults who have lived with lifelong disabling conditions how a continuum of recreational activities is needed to provide meaningful experiences to elders with developmental disabilities how to design therapeutic recreation programs survey instruments that can be used to gain information about the needs of elderly persons with DD how to find specific programs and services that are age appropriate and foster creative expression and positive self-esteem a rationale for the development of integrated recreation programs

Brain disordersâ€"neurological, psychiatric, and developmentalâ€"now affect at least 250 million people in the developing world, and this number is expected to rise as life expectancy increases. Yet public and private health systems in developing countries have paid relatively little attention to brain disorders. The negative attitudes, prejudice, and stigma that often surround many of these disorders have contributed to this neglect. Lacking proper diagnosis and treatment, millions of individual lives are lost to disability and death. Such conditions exact both personal and economic costs on families, communities, and nations. The report describes the causes and risk factors associated with brain disorders. It focuses on six representative brain disorders that are prevalent in developing countries: developmental disabilities, epilepsy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and stroke. The report makes detailed recommendations of ways to reduce the toll exacted by these six disorders. In broader strokes, the report also proposes six major strategies toward reducing the overall burden of brain disorders in the developing world.

The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. In the coming decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population: The ratio of people aged 65+ to people aged 20-64 will rise by 80%. This shift is happening for two reasons: people are living longer, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children and to have those children somewhat later in life. The resulting demographic shift will present the nation with economic challenges, both to absorb the costs and to leverage the benefits of an aging population. Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population presents the fundamental factors driving the aging of the U.S. population, as well as its societal implications and likely long-term macroeconomic effects in a global context. The report finds that, while population aging does not pose an insurmountable challenge to the nation, it is imperative that sensible policies are implemented soon to allow companies and households to respond. It offers four practical approaches for preparing resources to support the future consumption of households and for adapting to the new economic landscape.

What is the lived experience of previously healthy older adults as they face disability in late life, and how is disability assimilated in their identity? How do prevailing practices facilitate¿or limit¿options for elders living with new disabilities? To address these questions, Jeffrey Kahana and Eva Kahana uniquely synthesize disability and gerontological perspectives to explore both the unfolding challenges of aging and the practices and policies that can enhance the lives of older adults. Jeffrey S. Kahana is associate professor of history and codirector of the Center on Aging and Policy at Mount Saint Marry College. Eva Kahana is Distinguished University Professor and Pierce T. and Elizabeth D. Robson Professor of the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University, where she also is director of the Elderly Care Research Center.

Aging and Developmental Disability: Current Research, Programming, and Practice Implications explores research findings and their implications for practice in relation to normative and disability-related aging experiences and issues. This valuable book discusses the effectiveness of specific interventions targeted toward aging adults with developmental disabilities such as Down's Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, and epilepsy, and offers suggestions for practice and future research in this area.

Mainstream gerontological scholarship has taken little heed of people ageing with disability, and they have also been largely overlooked by both disability and ageing policies and service systems. The Handbook on Ageing with Disability is the first to pull together knowledge about the experience of ageing with disability. It provides a broad look at scholarship in this developing field and across different groups of people with disability in order to form a better understanding of commonalities across groups and identify unique facets of ageing within specific groups. Drawing from academic, personal, and clinical perspectives, the chapters address topics stemming from how the ageing with disability experience is framed, the heterogeneity of the population ageing with disability and the disability experience, issues of social exclusion, health and wellness, frailty, later life, and policy contexts for ageing with disability in various countries. Responding to the need to increase access to knowledge in this field, the Handbook provides guideposts for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers about what matters in providing services, developing programmes, and implementing policies that support persons ageing with long-term disabilities and their families.

The future of disability in America will depend on how well the U.S. prepares for and manages the demographic, fiscal, and technological developments that will unfold during the next two to three decades. Building upon two prior studies from the Institute of Medicine (the 1991 Institute of Medicine's report Disability in America and the 1997 report Enabling America), The Future of Disability in America examines both progress and concerns about continuing barriers that limit the independence, productivity, and participation in community life of people with disabilities. This book offers a comprehensive look at a wide range of issues, including the prevalence of disability across the lifespan; disability trends the role of assistive technology; barriers posed by health care and other facilities with inaccessible buildings, equipment, and information formats; the needs of young people moving from pediatric to adult health care and of adults experiencing premature aging and secondary health problems; selected issues in health care financing (e.g., risk adjusting payments to health plans, coverage of assistive technology); and the organizing and financing of disability-related research. The Future of Disability in America is an assessment of both principles and scientific evidence for disability policies and services. This book's recommendations propose steps to eliminate barriers and strengthen the evidence base for future public and private actions to reduce the impact of disability on individuals, families, and society.