4. Ageism
• The term Ageism was developed by gerontologist
Robert Butler in 1969. It is a terms that describes a
form of bigotry similar to racism and sexism.
• Ageism is unfairly limiting a persons access to
certain valued opportunities and rights based on an
irrelevant criteria ie. Age.
Peterson 1989, p.12-13
5. Question
Can you think of a time in your life when you have been
discriminated against because of your age? How did you
feel?
6. Ageing: Myths and Stereotypes
• Myth: is defined by the Collins dictionary as 1. Tale with
supernatural characters or events 2. Invented story 3.
Imaginary person or object
• Stereotype: is defined in the Collins dictionary as 2.
Something (monotonously)
familiar, conventional, predictable…lacking originality or
individuality.
What are some different stereotypes that you hear
about different groups in the community?
7. Stereotypes
To understand the term Ageism we need to
understand :
• what are the genuine behavioral characteristics
of certain age groups actually are.
People often see the behaviour or
characteristics of few but generalise these
to all people who belong to a group.
Eg. All young people take drugs and are
irresponsible!!! Where in fact only for a
small majority this is true!
8. Why is it that Older People are particularly
susceptible to stereotyping?
Western societies in particular value “youth and beauty”
• The media perpetuates this
• Headlines often talk about “aged care crisis”
• Poor examples of care in aged care.
• Will put pictures on the covers of magazines that point out
flaws in peoples complexion.
• People are scared of their own mortality
• People scorn what they fear
• For many people old age represents more loss than
gains.
9. Activity
• Identify common myths and stereotypes that you have
heard about older people
• Outline the consequence this could have on the older
person
• Outline how this myth/stereotype could effect the care
given to a resident.
• What can we do in our day to day work to ensure we
don’t perpetuate these myths and stereotypes
See activity sheet
13. What positive ageing means to some people
• Positive ageing can mean
different things to different
people.
• For some, it means a chance
to slow down, put your feet
up, and withdraw from the
bustle of working life.
• For others, it means the
opportunity to maintain
activity and involvement in
community life, and more time
to take up a variety of new
interests.
14. Why active participation is important for positive
ageing
Active participation in the community and
recreation
• There are significant health benefits associated
with active participation in community life.
• Older people who participate in social and
recreational activities tend to be healthier and
happier people.
• They have a greater sense of physical and
mental wellbeing and generally have a more
positive outlook on life.
15. Why active participation is important for positive
ageing
Active participation in the community
and recreation
• Similarly, those who exercise regularly
have a greater level of physical fitness,
are more easily able to perform daily
tasks and generally have a positive
image and self-esteem.
• Participation in recreation activities
provides people with the opportunity to
exert personal control and make choices,
to experience feelings of independence
and competence and to enhance their
social networks.
Paid Work
• This also is important for positive ageing
16. Working to change
• Learn each person’s name
• Learn about the needs of each person
• Learn about the likes and dislikes of each person
• Recognise that people change
• Accept that older people are all different
17. True or false?
• You can change how other people think about older
people?
• How you do your job does not have any effect on
other people?
• How you talk to older people does not make a
difference to how other aged care workers do their
jobs
