Event

Featuring acclaimed author and speaker Wendy Lustbader.

It is time for all of us to discard our negative assumptions about aging, personally and collectively. Too often, we see that old lady over there, rather than a woman who has gotten older. When it comes to ourselves, we feel both distinctive and ageless inside. We each want to be seen as an individual, rather than one of them. We find it offensive to be thrust into a category called the “elderly” simply on the basis of how long we have been alive.

The Culture Change movement, led by the national Pioneer Network, seeks to turn ageism inside out, challenging our societal bias with a focus on elders as individuals. Wendy Lustbader will foster a dialogue based on her new book, “Life Gets Better: The Unexpected Pleasures of Growing Older”.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify at least ten negative assumptions about elders that are commonly held.
• Describe how such assumptions affect our perceptions of older people.
• Depict at least three ways to challenge ageism when we encounter it in our personal and professional lives.
• Explain the ethical underpinnings of autonomy, dignity, and the right to assert one’s individuality.

Presenter

Wendy Lustbader, MSW, is the author of several books that have earned her a national reputation in the field of aging. She is also a popular speaker at conferences throughout the US and Canada, using storytelling to animate complex subjects. Additionally, she is a skilled psychotherapist, having worked almost twenty years with people from all walks of life. Currently, she is an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington at the School of Social Work in Seattle. Wendy’s first book was co-authored with Nancy Hooyman, Taking Care of Aging Family Members. Her second book, Counting on Kindness, helps readers to comprehend the complex feelings which arise when we become dependent on others for help. Her latest books are What’s Worth Knowing, a collection of pithy insights gathered from older people, and Life Gets Better, which explores how life improves as we get older, on every level except the physical.