Do read City Mom’s review today of JC ‘s storybook. Not only does City Mom call the story “amazing” and “a gem,” she says it spoke to her on “such an intimate level.”
Her own history with grandparents who were living with dementia is “almost identical to Jake’s.” she admits. She wishes that “What My Grandma Means to Say” had been in circulation at that time in her life.
Go to www.citymom.ca/2012/01/grandma-means-helping-kids-understand-alzheimers-disease to read the full review.
On Tuesday, January 17, at 1:00 p.m. (EST) Dr. Gordon Atherley from Toronto interviewed JC to learn how “What My Grandma Means to Say”, the play and the storybook, can enable family discussions about Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of dementia. Here is the link to the broadcast on VoiceAmerica:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/58907/what-my-grandma-means-to-say.
Dr. Atherley invited JC to come on his program after reading one of her articles in the national media about the importance of including children in family discussions when someone in that family is living with Alzheimer’s disease. So often, families find it very difficult to speak among themselves about what is happening to someone about whom they care. So often, the need of children to understand their place in such a situation is not given attention by health care providers.
The discussion was far-ranging and included the important perspective offered by Kristen Irvine, a professional personal care worker who is very involved in supporting her own grandmother who is living with Alzheimer’s disease.
Having education programs in schools that focus on Alzheimer’s and the use of “What My Grandma Means to Say” in training health care providers were some of the issues which arose during the discussion.
At the site for the program is an e-mail address for comments on the broadcast which Dr. Atherley welcomes.
JC participated in a panel on January 10 that focussed on marketing and promotion but gave her the chance to talk about how she came to write “What My Grandma Means to Say.” Here is the link to executive member Arlene Smith’s blog on what struck her about JC’s comments. www.scienceandstory.wordpress.com
JC was pleased to accept the invitation Lawrence Grant, Executive Director of The Glebe Centre, extended on behalf of the organization’s Board of Directors, to give a dramatic reading of the play on November 28.
JC confirmed to the Board how the Glebe Centre partnered on “What My Grandma Means to Say” from when it was first being test-read in 2009, through the development of a Discussion Guide for teachers, the premiere of the play at the Ottawa International Writers Festival in 2009 and the publication of the storybook adaptation in the spring of 2011. She expressed her particular gratitude to Jen Dare, Pat Goyeche and Karen Joynt for their support throughout the evolution of the project. Most recently Abbotsford hosted a tea for healthcare professionals and for educators to demonstrate how the book and the play can enable families and children discuss Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of dementia and can help them develop strategies to support someone they know who is living with such diseases.
Members of the Board were touched by the play and posed a number of questions after the presentation. One Board member asked whether JC had thought of writing about what happens as Alzheimer’s disease progresses, with a focus on the end of life. JC had not considered that but would.
She advised the board that junior students at her recent reading at Hopewell Avenue Public School had encouraged her to write about other diseases. When JC asked which ones they thought she should target, here were some of their suggestions: diabetes, cancer and ALS. The fact that these children between the ages of 8 and 12 already have such illnesses on their radar screens proved to JC how important it is for families to include children in conversations when such situations affect the life of a family.
Just noted: Please go to http://server14a.pressmart.net/capitalparent/index.aspx to find JC’s article, “Children have a place in the Alzheimer’s picture.”
JC presented “What My Grandma Means to Say” over 100 students from grades 3 and 4 at Bayview Public School in Ottawa on November 9,2011. After reading from the book and explaining how she adapted the play into story form, JC welcomed questions that covered aspects of Alzheimer’s disease as well as the process of writing she uses. Student participation was great and the questions very thoughtful. She enjoyed her first visit to the school thoroughly.
On November 10, JC returned to Hopewell Avenue Public School and met 200 students from grades 3-7 who were crammed into the Library. This enthusiastic group was interested in talking about writing. Several students encouraged JC to write a series which could address other diseases. When she asked which ones, they came up with a strong list: diabetes, cancer, ALS and polio were raised. JC explained to the students how she had launched her first book for children, “Annabella and The TyCoon” in their library thirteen years ago and that the book raised over $2000 for the music program at the school. She also told them that the poem which she wrote which has gone through the most number of drafts was based on an experience she had leading a workshop for Hopewell students during with she met Alice Erwin, an amazing young woman who touched her deeply. “Beholder” is probably my favourite poem,” JC admitted. When asked which of her six books for children she likes the best, she suggested that the question was rather like asking a mother which of her children she likes best. Impossible to answer.
Check out this brand-new website for Grandparents that profiles “What My Grandma Means to Say” and reprints JC’s article from City Parent (Toronto). http://thegrandparentsguide.com/tag/alzheimers/
It’s great that talking with kids about Alzheimer’s is featured there. Hope that families who could use the book learn about it this way.
In a special supplement on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, the Vancouver Province gave my article today a place of prominence. Check it out: http://www.theprovince.com/health/Essay+Children+need+brought+into+Alzheimer+conversation/5472978/story.html
The Line-a-day Poetry Project began in October 2010, on this site under the “for Mature Readers” tab. JC imagined the challenge as an opportunity to distill into one line some element from her daily experience. It was both surprising and not to her that the project took a different road than she had foreseen. Instead of lines of free verse linked to one another, at least in chronology if in no other way, stanzas emerged. First haiku; then tanka forms dominated. JC often used the repetition of a word or related subject matter from one stanza to another to enable the flow of her ideas.
While, JC admits she found herself impatient, at times, for this commitment to write for a year to end, the anniversary date passed without her notice. When she realized the year was over, instead of sighing with relief, she felt regret. So she has decided to continue the process for another year without any preconceived notion of whether the lines will follow the pattern set to date or not.
JC welcomes comments on the Line-a-day Project on this site.
Talking with Kids about Alzheimer’s: “What My Grandma Means to Say,” a new video.
Here’s a video that shows how to stage “What My Grandma Means to Say” as a play for elementary school-aged students. Performed last October by actors from Prince Edward Collegiate Institute in Picton, Ontario, for 200 students from C.M.L. Snider School in Wellington, Ontario, the play kick-starts discussions to which kids bring their questions, their own perceptions and their experiences about supporting someone who is living with Alzheimer’s. The production was made possible by a community partnership between the Alzheimer Society of Prince Edward County, Prince Edward Collegiate Institute and JC Sulzenko and by financial support from The Community Foundation of Ottawa and The Organix Foundation, Montreal.