Empathetic Modeling Day

We are going to try to put ourselves into the position of the elderly. Now before we begin, it is important to understand that try as we may, we will never truly understand how it feels to be very old….until we get there. Also, we will attempt to minimize our senses and it is important to note that people age at different rates and there are serious holes in our little bit of modeling. In other words, some people have perfect hearing at 70 while others cannot hear a thing….this activity is only meant to give us a glimpse…as inaccurate as it may be.

Before I lay out the assignment…..DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE WHILE PARTICIPATING IN THE ACTIVITY.

Here are some suggestions to empathetically model a disabled elderly man or woman.

Wear sunglasses and smear Vaseline on the glasses to mimic cataracts.
Wear earplugs to limit hearing.
Wear gloves to limit tactile (touch) sense.
Wrap bandages around joints- or duct tape over clothes- to mimic joint immobility.
Wear a hear book bag to simulate weakness in back.
Wear beads or small objects in shoe to mimic foot pain when standing or walking.
Try repeatedly subtracting 7startiung from 100 while talking to others to mimic cognitive issues.
Think of other ways to feel older and bring them up in class.

I want a 1-2 page write up on some of the challenges you faced throughout the day. How did…if at all…change the way you view the edlderly.