I learned a lot about human interaction while working on my book about Alzheimer's. Here's one of my favorite stories from the book, simply called, “He’s not deaf.”
When she takes her husband with Alzheimer's out, the wife often uses the card the Alzheimer’s Association gave her, which states that this person has trouble with memory loss and how their patience is appreciated.
“I’ve done some very interesting studies on this. Do you know what happens? The minute you hand it to someone, they assume that person is deaf. They suddenly start talking much louder and say, ‘SIR, DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO EAT?’ Finally I say, ‘He’s not deaf.’ But isn’t that funny?
“One day, I handed the waiter the card, and that waiter immediately got down on his knee so that he was face-to-face with him. I asked, ‘How did you know to do that?’ He said, ‘My grandmother …’ So, now I’m thinking there is a whole new school of people out there that need to be informed about memory loss and people coming into their place of business. They will start shouting at you, and they even do it in a doctor’s office.”
OK, folks, listen up! People with Alzheimer's are NOT deaf! Did you hear me?!?!??!
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