Move over Baby Mozart and Baby Bach. If you really want your children to learn the classics — and know the composer\’s name to boot — check out \”Beethoven\’s Wig, Sing Along Symphonies.\”
When she was in her 30s, Hansi Goetter developed a mysterious illness. Although her doctors couldn\’t determine the cause, they told her she had only a few months to live.
At many nursing homes and other senior residences, a visit from some friendly canines during "pet therapy" is a welcome source of comfort and cheer. But while the furry companions bring smiles and laughter to the majority of residents, they can be a source of terror to aging Holocaust survivors who suffer from post-traumatic stress or Alzheimer\’s disease.
After hundreds of hours of research and with the help of the Technology Department at Milken; Aliza Sokolow produced the \”College Guide to Learning Disability Programs,\” a CD-ROM featuring links to disability programs at community colleges and universities throughout the country.
After years of being talked about in hushed tones as \”the change of life\” — or not being talked about at all — menopause is now in the spotlight. Two recent plays, \”Is it Hot in Here … Or Is it Me?\” and \”Menopause the Musical\” literally put menopause center stage.
Twice in the past couple of days, I\’ve been in conversation and found myself grasping for a word. On both occasions, my 4-year-old supplied the word before I could come up with it. And, of course, there are the times that I walk into a room only to realize that I have no idea what I wanted to do once I got there. Are these natural lapses or early signs of something more sinister?
\”We are all one day closer to Alzheimer\’s disease,\” Dr. Gary Small says forebodingly in his book \”The Memory Bible: An Innovative Strategy for Keeping Your Brain Young\” (Hyperion, 2003). \”Alzheimer\’s and dementia begin forming in our brains much earlier than anyone previously imagined, even in our 20s.\”
In the first moments after Lori Marx-Rubiner was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, several fears ran through her head. The Jewish community social worker, who was 35 at the time, wondered about her mortality and worried about the prospect of pain and nausea induced by treatment. However, her deepest concern centered on her then 3-year-old son, Zachary.
Life isn\’t so easy for Genia Cohen. The 68-year-old widow lives in a low-income apartment in Hollywood. She finds it difficult to get together with her sister, her only living relative in the area, who\’s also suffering from the aches and pains of age.
Like many working mothers, Rose Ziff was already spread pretty thin when she took on care-giving responsibility for her 85-year-old mother. The Culver City resident works full time as an administrator at UCLA. She and her husband, Ron, are raising two daughters, ages 12 and 10, and dealing with their younger daughter\’s recent autism diagnosis. In her limited discretionary time, Ziff was co-leading the 10-year-old\’s Brownie troop, serving on her synagogue\’s board of directors and co-chairing the religious school\’s parent association. In April, Ziff added another ball in the air by moving her mother, Evelyn Goldman, from Chicago to Los Angeles.
At the ages of 83 and 84, Rose and Sam Leff began to feel isolated in their two-bedroom Woodland Hills apartment. \”We had given up driving, so there really wasn\’t too much for us to do,\” Rose said.
The Leffs decided to move to a residential care facility at the Jewish Home for the Aging, which provides kosher meals, housekeeping services, transportation, social and recreational activities and a medical clinic on-site. While they agree it was difficult adjusting to living in one room (\”If we have a fight, I\’m out in the hall,\” Sam joked), four years later, they have no regrets about their decision.
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