OKLAHOMA CAPITOL --- Professionals who work with older adults can learn how to use cognitive stimulation to help older persons at an upcoming training program.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Aging Services Division was chosen from a field of 100 national applicants to the MindAlert Trainer’s Bureau to implement training in cognitive fitness. The program, funded by the MetLife Foundation, is part of the American Society on Aging’s MindAlert Initiative to promote innovative practices that help older adults maintain and enhance mental fitness.

The workshop runs from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. on Aug. 26 at Shepherd Mall, Activity Center, 2401 N.W. 23rd St., Suite 40B. Ruth Flexman, Ph.D., Academy of Lifelong Learning coordinator at the University of Delaware in Wilmington and a faculty member of the MindAlert Trainer’s Bureau, will lead the workshop. There is no cost to register, but pre-registration is required.

Registration is open to two groups – a demonstration group consisting of older adults and professionals who work with older adults. The demonstration group will learn new methods of cognitive stimulation and will participate in experiential exercises to increase mental fitness and demonstrate that learning can be fun. Professionals will focus on skills they can use to work with older persons.

The morning session features Flexman demonstrating new ideas for mental stimulation with a group of older adults and professionals. The afternoon session with professionals will focus on how the brain influences behavior, how behavior influences the brain and special strategies for promoting mental fitness with older adults in a variety of local settings.

For more information or to register, please call Connie J. Eggleston, M.S.W., C.P.M., at (405) 522-3121, or e-mail her at Connie.Eggleston@OKDHS.org.

Program Schedule

The morning program will include both the demonstration group and the professionals from 9 a.m.-noon with a break in the middle of the morning for snacks. Lunch for the professionals will follow from noon to 1 p.m. The afternoon session, for professionals only, runs from 1 to 3:30 p.m.

During the morning session both the demonstration group and the professionals will participate in a variety of learning experiences to demonstrate learning on the right and left sides of the brain. As individuals or in teams, participants will take part in exercises that influence language, logic, spatial movement, musical expression and social interaction.

The afternoon session with the professional group will cover the following topics:

• How the brain influences behavior
• How behavior influences the brain
• Principles for promoting mental fitness
• Mental workouts to develop brain power
• Adaptation for age-related losses and other special characteristics
• Creative ideas for applications in local settings

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