WEBVTT

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People with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities in old age

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What defines the phase of life known as old age?

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Yes, there is no clear answer to that question,

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because the aging process varies greatly from person to person.

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Colloquially, we talk

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about the young elderly and the old elderly.

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The young elderly are still active,

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do a lot,

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and may also be involved in voluntary work,

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have many contacts

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and the so-called old elderly

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are becoming increasingly frail,

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increasingly in need of care,

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and also increasingly forgetful,

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so they can no longer cope well with their lives.

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If we look at

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what is represented or has been represented 

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in age research in terms of images of old age,

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there have also been developments

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that can be observed since the 1970s,

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which show that today

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view elderly people very differently

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than perhaps they did back then.

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That was almost 50 years ago now.

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Back then, the deficit theory guided our actions,

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and the focus was solely on reduction processes.

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This has now been completely abandoned.

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I don't want to list all the theories,

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just one perhaps,

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the so-called continuity theory,

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which states that people who are interested in their activities in old age

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are interested in continuing their activities

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that they have done before,

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that are familiar to them,

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to maintain friendships as far as possible, and so on.

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And also to continue or take on roles that they had previously

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in old age.

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But this is in connection with integration

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which, of course, also occurs in this group of people

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and the deterioration in health that occurs in this group of people,

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that attempts are being made to link the two.

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Currently, the focus is on competence theory,

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which examines the interaction between environmental conditions or the

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interaction between the individual elderly person

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and the environment

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and assumes

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that if the environment

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for aging people,

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they can more easily maintain their skills

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or even develop new ones.

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And overall, it can be said that

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if you look at the newer

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theories from aging research,

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that aging is now seen as a task

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for the individual.

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Starting with the inner struggle

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with the changes.

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First you have to come to terms with the fact

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that you can't move around as well anymore,

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that your memory is failing,

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that you are more susceptible to illness and so on.

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And the second task is

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despite the impending limitations,

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to maintain normal activities as far as possible,

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as already described,

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and also to be open to

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develop new activities,

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in interaction with the environment,

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which makes some things possible,

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and some things impossible.

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So that would be

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what characterizes the phase of life known as old age.

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If we take a closer look,

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I have already mentioned some aspects

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that occur in almost every person,

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regardless of age.

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This is crucial at the beginning

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the end of working life.

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This is experienced very differently,

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by some as a loss,

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as a deep hole into which one falls,

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but by others also as a new freedom.

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You can finally do

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what you want to do.

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Perhaps what still needs to be addressed

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is how to deal with dying and death,

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which is always getting closer

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the older you get.

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And when your circle of friends

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and acquaintances gets smaller and smaller,

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because friends die,

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then it's hard not to think

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think about your own mortality.

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These are all challenges

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that every person must face in old age.

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What significance does the phase of life known as old age have for people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities?

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Today, we have a situation

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where people with complex support needs

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reach a higher age

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than was previously possible

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due to medical advances.

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They will not live as long

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as people with less severe impairments

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and age-related changes

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often occur earlier than in other

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people with less severe impairments,

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but there are hardly any detailed studies on this,

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because it is still a relatively new situation

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that this group of people has not already

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at a younger age.

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There are parallels to the experience of growing old

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experiences of aging

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 for example, the loss of the support center or WFBM.

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This initially creates learning spaces in old age

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that need to be filled

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with other meaningful everyday activities,

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which is an important task for employees.

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As far as the network of social relationships is concerned,

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this has always been quite thin among this group of people,

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one might say.

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The main contacts in this group of people

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are still predominantly with relatives,

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professionals

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and other people with disabilities.

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Friends who do not have a disability themselves

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are rather the exception.

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And this circle is now even smaller due to the departure

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from the support center.

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task for employees to look after

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how existing contacts

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can be strengthened

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or new ones can be developed.

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Of course, you also notice

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that your movements are slowing down,

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that eating is becoming more difficult,

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that speaking is becoming more difficult,

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that communication is becoming increasingly laborious,

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that health deteriorates.

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So overall, it's quite a difficult situation,

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because you already

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had a hard time with your health,

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which is often very unstable.

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And what is often not considered is that

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some people with complex support needs

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also experience mental health crises as they age,

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which, it is assumed,

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are thought to be

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related to early traumatic experiences

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that are usually unknown.

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But possible connections cannot be ruled out,

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so that sometimes

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suddenly exhibit behavioral problems

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that were not observed before.