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The INDEPENDENT, January 18, 2007
Wondering about Alzheimer’s? Check out these warning signs
The Alzheimer’s Association
offers these 10 warning signs
of Alzheimer’s disease:
1. Memory loss. Forgetting
recently learned information is
one of the most common early
signs of dementia. A person be-
gins to forget more often and is
unable to recall the information
later. What’s normal? Forget-
ting names or appointments oc-
casionally.
2. Difficulty performing famil-
iar tasks. People with dementia
often find it hard to plan or com-
plete everyday tasks. They may
lose track of the steps involved
in preparing a meal, placing a
telephone call or playing a
game. What’s normal? Occa-
sionally forgetting why you
came into a room or what you
planned to say.
3. Problems with language.
People with Alzheimer’s dis-
ease often forget simple words
or substitute unusual words,
making their speech or writing
hard to understand. They may
be unable to find the tooth-
brush, for example, and instead
ask for “that thing for my
mouth.” What’s normal? Some-
times having trouble finding the
right word.
4. Disorientation to time and
place. People with Alzheimer’s
disease can become lost in
their own neighborhood, forget
where they are and how they
got there, and not know how to
get back home. What’s normal?
Forgetting the day of the week
or where you were going.
5. Poor or decreased judg-
ment. Those with Alzheimer’s
may dress inappropriately,
wearing several layers on a
warm day or little clothing in the
cold. They may show poor
judgment, like giving away
large sums of money to tele-
marketers. What’s normal?
Making a questionable or de-
batable decision from time to
time.
6. Problems with abstract
thinking. Someone with Alzhei-
mer’s disease may have un-
usual difficulty performing com-
plex mental tasks, such as for-
getting what numbers are for
and how they should be used.
What’s normal? Finding it chal-
lenging to balance a check-
book.
7. Misplacing things. A per-
son with Alzheimer’s disease
may put things in unusual
places: an iron in the freezer or
a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.
What’s normal? Misplacing
keys or a wallet temporarily.
8. Changes in mood or be-
havior. Someone with Alzhei-
mer’s disease may show rapid
mood swings – from calm to
tears to anger – for no appar-
ent reason. What’s normal?
Occasionally feeling sad or
moody.
9. Changes in personality.
The personalities of people
with dementia can change dra-
matically. They may become
extremely confused. suspi-
cious, fearful or dependent on a
family member. What’s normal?
People’s personalities do
change somewhat with age.
10. Loss of initiative. A per-
son with Alzheimer’s disease
may become very passive, sit-
ting in front of the TV for hours,
sleeping more than usual or not
wanting to do usual activities.
What’s normal? Sometimes
feeling weary of work or social
obligations.
Make your resolutions last, learn
how at free Evening Chat session
Lifestyle Changes That Last
is the focus of a discussion on
Wednesday, January 24, at
6:00 p.m. that will take place at
Tuality Health Education Cen-
ter, 334 SE Eighth Ave., Hills-
boro. This is a free, no registra-
tion required, 90-minute ses-
sion.
You really can make your
resolutions last! Join Lauren
Stillman-Smith,
M.S.
W.,
LCSW, and Elaine Merryfield,
health and wellness education,
for a fun and casual discussion
about how to identify the priori-
ties that count and how to stay
on track by learning to manage
stress in any situation.
Jazzercise announces new winter schedule and Presidential awards
The Presidential Council has
programs available to promote
active lifestyles. The Active
Lifestyle program shows how to
make a commitment to staying
active and how to stick to it by
helping each person set realis-
tic goals to encourage fitness
for a lifetime. The rules are sim-
ple. Choose from all kinds of
activities. They’ll give you a
personal activity log use as a
guide.
Because hard work should-
n’t go unrecognized, you can
also earn awards. You can earn
the Presidential Active Lifestyle
Award (PALA) by performing
regular activity beyond your
daily activity goal of (30 min-
utes a day for adults/60 min-
utes a day for youths under 18)
at least five days per week, for
six weeks. As an alternative,
you can count your daily activi-
ty steps using a pedometer.
That means if you stick with
the program, you can earn an
award in a little over a month.
So what are you waiting for?
Go to www.presidentschalleng
e.org for more information.
Locally, Jazzercise instructor
Penny Costley is offering Ver-
nonia the opportunity to dance
its way to a Presidential Sports
Award through Jazzercise, the
world’s largest dance-fitness
program.
The President’s Council de-
veloped the Presidential Sports
Award Program in 1972 in con-
junction with national sports or-
ganizations and associations.
Its purpose is to motivate all
Americans to become more
physically active. The award
recognizes those who have ac-
cepted this challenge and have
invested time and effort to meet
personal fitness goals. Partici-
One Week Free
&
$25 OFF
(savings toward registration or
joining fee on your first visit only)
Valid for new customers or those not attending
since 9/15/06. At participating locations only. Other
restrictions may apply. Offer expires 1/22/07.
503-429-0196
jazzercise.com • (800)FIT-IS-IT
pants will earn a Presidential
Sports Award when they partic-
ipate in 50 hours of Jazzercise
classes within a four month pe-
riod and record the hours in
their Personal Fitness Log.
The 60-minute Jazzercise
class includes a warm-up, high-
energy aerobic routines, mus-
cle-toning and cool-down
stretch segment. Jazzercise
combines elements of dance,
resistance training, Pilates,
yoga, kickboxing and more to
create programs for people of
every age and fitness level. Al-
ternative
formats
include
Jazzercise Lite, Jazzercise
Body Sculpting, Jazzercise
Step, Jazzercise Plus, Jazzer-
cise Circuit Training, Jazzercise
Personal Touch, and Junior
Jazzercise.
Vernonia Jazzercise instruc-
tors have announced their
schedule of winter classes, in-
cluding the addition of 8:00
a.m. Saturday classes, bringing
the total to thirteen classes of-
fered per week as of January
2007. Jazzercise instructor
Penelope Costley has added
the classes to accommodate
new participants and to provide
current participants with a
greater choice of convenient
class times.
“I’m excited about the growth
of Jazzercise locally,” said
Costley. “Jazzercise offers a
unique blend of fitness and jazz
dance that Vernonia residents
have discovered is a lot of fun.
The new classes will just make
it easier for participants to en-
joy a workout where and when
it’s convenient for them.”
Costley, Burghard and Ped-
ersen will teach the following
Jazzercise classes: 5:45am
Monday, Wednesday and Fri-
day; 8:00am Saturday; 9:30am
Monday thru Friday (Jazzercise
Lite on Monday and Wednes-
day); 7:15pm Monday thru
Thursday (Jazzercise Body
Sculpting on Wednesday) at
The First Baptist Church 359 A
Street, Vernonia.
For other information on
Jazzercise contact Costley at
503-429-0196. For worldwide
information, go to jazzercise.
com or call 1-800-FIT-IS-IT.