At a neighborhood Walmart store recently, a sluggish looking middle-aged man approached me and asked for money to buy milk and bread for his family. He held out his sullied hand and showed me a few dollars and coins he had collected. Without hesitation, I reached for my purse and then gave him a few dollars. Isn’t that what it’s all about – helping thy neighbor? As I was checking out, however, I noticed the same man putting his milk and bread on an unattended counter and walking away, putting his newfound cash flow in his pockets. I watched him as he cautiously looked around him, and as he turned, his eyes met mine. He hung his head and left the store.
Such stories are numerous, and such events advance the human perception of would-be beggars and affect us in ways that make our emotions teeter from guilt to frustration and from sympathy to exasperation.
Human perception is the psychological definition of what we perceive, which despite what some people believe is not always the same as what truly is. In other words, we tend to perceive things the way we want rather than how they are really happening. Our perceptions are based on our life experiences; therefore, the perceptions of two people of the same situation are unlikely to be the same.
I was thinking of “Perception” and how most of the world looks at individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. I believe there is a kind of social stigma about the disease. The individual tends to “hide” the disease as long as he/she can. The family tends to stay in denial with others, using all kinds of creative cover-ups to mask this devastating brain disorder. And with the growing statistics of Alzheimer’s – 5.5 million people now in the U.S.-- the community and the world at-large still seem hesitant to forcibly confront this flooding river called Alzheimer’s disease.
Albeit the denial, the guilt, the discounting that this disease is going to “flood” most everyone’s lives in the very near future, the individual with Alzheimer’s is losing himself and “unlearning” everything he did in his lifetime. The individual’s memory wanes and their loved ones grapple with what once was and will never be again. And, then comes PERCEPTION. That individual CAN’T function, CAN’T have a quality of life, and CAN’T “enjoy” any activities. And last of all, the best thing for that individual is peace and calm and minimal stimulation….just keep them comfortable.
Perception. No two people perceive the same thing, yet the perception of this individual with Alzheimer’s is NOT what is truly happening. Yes, the disease is terminal. However, the disease can prevail for a very long time. Having the perception that the individual with Alzheimer’s has no quality of life, that he should be kept quiet with no activities and no purposeful stimulation, are a few perceptions society needs to change.
For those of you who watch Donald Trump’s “Apprentice” on television, country music star, John Rich, had this to say about his perception of his teammate, Lil’ Jon, a musician and rapper. "I'm very proud of what he [Lil’ Jon] accomplished. He raised a lot of money for his charity but he also successfully broke down a stereotype about guys like him -Rappers. Guys that dress like him. I know that was very important to him, not everybody that dresses like me or you do these certain things that they are stereotyped with and I know that was huge to Lil Jon and he definitely accomplished that." Lil’ Jon accepted the invitation on the show not only to raise money for his dedicated charity, but also to show viewers that Rappers are not all ignorant or on drugs. Perception.
An LSU service-learning student commented to her instructor that she had a prior mental picture of visiting the clients at Charlie’s Place and she was rather fearful. She thought the environment would be quiet, with the clients more or less “watching the grass” grow. However, she was surprised to learn how much joy and fulfillment the clients at Charlie’s Place exuberated, the atmosphere one of security [from an outside world that judges], and that people with Alzheimer’s disease can actually have enjoyment in their lives. Perception.
The stereotypical perception of Alzheimer’s blocks our awareness that the person with the disease can actually have some fruitful and productive time before the disease, like any other, progresses to end-of-life. Though we have to re-introduce ourselves (often) to the person with Alzheimer’s, this new relationship can be one of incredible gratification and lead to a whole new understanding of the disease, which can then begin to change our own PERCEPTION and that of others.
French painter, Robert Delaunay, once said, ‘Our understanding is correlative to our perception.” Once we wholly understand Alzheimer’s and that the individual with the disease can be a productive member of society, that he can have a quality of life, and once we are open and honest about the disease itself, then we can begin to change perceptions about Alzheimer’s disease, and the people diagnosed, in our community and in our world.
Dana Territo
Director of Services
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