<p> This qualitative case study explored the ways in which older adults with developmental disabilities (DD) learn to successfully age in place. As more persons with DD reach old age and outlive their natural caretakers, such as parents, it is becoming apparent that there are a multitude of age-related challenges and educational needs that must be addressed. However, information pertaining to the unique learning needs of older adults with DD is scarce. Andragogy (the art and science of teaching adults) and geragogy (teaching the elderly) provided the theoretical frameworks for this study. The main research question in this study was: How are older adults with DD unique adult learners? To answer this question, the primary investigator (PI) conducted a qualitative study exploring the ways in which older adults enrolled in the Association on Aging with Developmental Disabilities (AADD) programs and services for seniors learned to successfully age in place. The PI conducted observations, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and an email questionnaire with a sample of AADD program participants, staff, and board members. Verbatim transcriptions of the interviews and focus group sessions were analyzed using open and axial coding methods. </p><p> The following 11 themes emerged from the data: respect and equality, individualization, humor and fun, age-related learning challenges, social support, accumulation of loss, active aging and health maintenance, independence and autonomy, identity, attitudes towards those aging with DD, and learning strategies. The results provided evidence of the application of andragogy in meeting the unique learning needs of older adults with DD, as well as the premise that independent learning leads to independent living. Participants stressed the need for learning to be highly individualized and fun. The importance of strong social support systems to help offset myriad age-related challenges faced by older adults with DD were also evidenced. Further exploration of educational programs designed to address emerging learning needs of those aging with DD, such as reverse caregiving roles (e.g., assuming the responsibility of primary caregiver for an elderly parent), as well as the application of andragogy to other aging with DD programs and services is warranted.</p>

Master of Science / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Stephanie Rolley / More than 5% of the 65 and older population utilize nursing homes, congregate care, assisted living, and board-and-care homes, with about 4.2% of these individuals occupying nursing homes at any given time (Administration on Aging, 2008). The rate of nursing home use generally increases with age and studies have shown that by the year 2030, the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults over the age of 65 is expected to be nearly 3 million (SAGE, 2010). With this overall increase in potential resident populations, those aging adults who identify as LGBT are faced with additional unique challenges commonly not encountered by their heterosexual counterparts. The majority of LGBT elders fear they will experience discrimination in long-term care organizations, with more than half maintaining that staff or even other residents will abuse or neglect them (Knochel, et al., 2010). Unrevised long-term care organizational rules combined with prejudice and hostile treatment from staff members can create unwelcoming environments for LGBT elders who are generally unable to advocate for themselves. Challenges that aging LGBT adults face in long-term care settings will be reviewed and discussed in this report. In addition, this report will provide educational guidelines to assist long-term care organizations in developing an educational model targeted at addressing LGBT elders’ concerns. When staff within a long-term care community lack proper training on and understanding of LGBT concerns, it can negatively affect the quality of care provided to these members. As such, the educational guidelines will encourage an educational model incorporating cultural competency training among the long-term care staff and organizational leadership, and will utilize community development principles to ensure inclusiveness and increase social capital.

Ce travail est une contribution à la compréhension des capacités adaptatives des personnes âgées déprimées et non déprimées. Pour répondre à cet objectif nous avons utilisé une méthode expérimentale et une observation clinique : une étude de cas suivie longitudinalement pendant 6 ans. La relation dépression - flexibilité cognitive est évaluée au moyen d'épreuves de shifting et de fluence auprès de deux groupes de personnes âgées non démentes, déprimées et non déprimées, résidant en maisons de retraite.L'analyse quantitative et qualitative met en évidence un affaiblissement de la flexibilité cognitive qui se traduit par une corrélation négative entre les scores de dépression et ceux obtenus aux épreuves de flexibilité réactive et spontanée. Nous établissons une analogie entre les comportements adaptatifs au quotidien et les données quantitatives, et nous proposons un schéma théorique expliquant le comportement adaptatif des personnes âgées. Notre étude de cas permet une meilleure compréhension de la relation dépression-flexibilité cognitive notamment l'amélioration des capacités adaptatives suite à la baisse du niveau de dépression. / This thesis is a contribution to the understanding of adaptive capacity of depressed and non-depressed aging adults. To achieve this goal we have used an experimental method and a clinical observation: a six-year longitudinal case study. The relationship between depression and cognitive flexibility is assessed by means of shifting and fluency tasks applied to two groups of non-dement depressed and non-depressed elderly who reside in nursing institutions.The quantitative and qualitative analysis shows a decrease in cognitive flexibility which highlights a negative correlation between depression and flexibility scores. We establish an analogy between daily adaptive behaviours and quantitative data, and we propose a theoretical mechanism that explains the adaptive behaviour of the elderly. Our case study offers a deeper understanding of the relationship between depression and cognitive flexibility, particularly the improvements of adaptive capacities due to a decrease of depression.

Perhaps the most important single finding in the field of emotional aging has been that the overall quality of affective experience steadily improves during adulthood and can be maintained into old age. Recent lifespan developmental theories have provided motivation- and experience-based explanations for this phenomenon. These theories suggest that, as individuals grow older, they become increasingly motivated and able to regulate their emotions, which could result in reduced negativity and enhanced positivity. The objective of this paper is to expand existing theories and empirical research on emotional aging by presenting a discrete emotions perspective. To illustrate the usefulness of this approach, we focus on a discussion of the literature examining age differences in anger and sadness. These two negative emotions have typically been subsumed under the singular concept of negative affect. From a discrete emotions perspective, however, they are highly distinct and show multidirectional age differences. We propose that such contrasting age differences in specific negative emotions have important implications for our understanding of long-term patterns of affective well-being across the adult lifespan.