Summary: Dekel Shekarzi, a 21-year-old who defines himself as an actor, a poet, a dancer, and a romantic in love with love itself, is defined by many others not by who he is, but by what he was born with: Down's syndrome. This engaging documentary follows Dekel in his everyday life, which is anything but "everyday. For him, faith, hope, and willpower have fused together to fuel his dreams. Film of Dekel...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In 2003, the Beaudry family left their comfortable middle-class home to backpack across the world. A year after their adventure, Samuel Beaudry took another journey-one that left his wife, Maryse Chartrand, with shocking questions. How could a life-loving person take his own life? When mourning exhausts itself, what comes next? Can a family survive suicide? This documentary, originally planned...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: Most people are unwilling to confront aging-even many seniors live in denial of it. Some fear losing their independence and autonomy, while others simply can't accept the graying of their hair. This program explores the varied landscape of aging in America, presenting the realities-physical, medical, emotional, and economic-of growing old in a youth-obsessed society. Whether they are well off...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Norman is caught in a cycle of physical abuse at the hands of his grown son, and yet when given the opportunity to live safely apart from him in an adult care facility, says he would rather be home. In candid interviews Norman recalls the close relationship he once had with his son and expresses confusion about the brutal behavior the man now exhibits. He's reluctant to press charges and his...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
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Summary: Hosted by CBS NEWS correspondent Dan Rather, this program looks at aging from a number of angles. Individual profiles highlight major factors in growing older while maintaining health and happiness, such as diet and exercise, social relationships, and engagement with life itself. Among those featured are actor Nick Nolte; Dr. John Rowe, a leading expert on aging and the elderly; and Dr. Leila...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Thanks to recent advances in medicine, longevity is on the rise. But will America's youth-oriented society finally develop the maturity to respect its elders? And will the Medicare and Social Security infrastructures be able to meet the needs of the Baby Boomers? In this program, experts including medical ethicist David Solomon, the directors of the Aging with Dignity Institute and the Forever...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In this program three married couples affected by Alzheimer's disease talk candidly with a clinical social worker about both physical and emotional changes that occur in their intimate relationships as a partner goes from being a spouse to a caregiver. Sexual expression becomes awkward or meaningless when a mate with dementia no longer recognizes a husband or wife, and the overall fabric of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program addresses the problem of anxiety in the elderly and the diseases associated with the problem. Interviews with sufferers of GAD, Geriatric Anxiety Disorder, provide insights into the agony of the condition. General anxiety disorders, their symptoms, and physiological manifestations are examined, including chemical imbalance, psychosocial implications, and the emotional impact on the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Using archival materials and newer footage, this program introduces students to the rich wisdom of Erik H. Erikson. Best known for his identification of the eight stages of the life cycle, Erikson spent a lifetime observing and studying the way in which the interplay of genetics, cultural influences, and unique experiences produces individual human lives. The video combines biographical...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1991
View online at AVOD
Summary: What is the difference between run-of-the-mill memory difficulties and the effects of Alzheimer's disease? If an older person is experiencing more "senior moments" than usual, should he or she be concerned? What happens inside the brain of an Alzheimer's patient? This program addresses those questions with the help of expert interviews and compelling case studies. Viewers will learn how the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Community-based caregiving is a vital mode of support for older adults with developmental disabilities. This insightful and uplifting program examines how, within Hispanic, African-American, and Asian-American cultural contexts, the needs of high-functioning members of this population are being met through the empowering assistance of their families and through healthcare- and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As many non-Western cultures have always known, music affects human development from the womb to the grave-in fact, it may even have specific health benefits. This documentary examines the role music plays in shaping our brains and improving our well-being. Starting with the effect of musical vibrations on premature infants in neonatal intensive care, the film moves on to study the role of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: “Wisdom and integrity are something that other people may see in an old person, but it’s not what that old person is feeling.” In this program, Joan M. Erikson offers a frank and personal reexamination of the last stage of the life cycle—a stage she believes that she and her husband, Erik H. Erikson, tended to romanticize when they formulated their eight-stage life cycle theory decades earlier....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1995
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Summary: Many people report that being told they could no longer drive was even more difficult than receiving their diagnosis of Alzheimer's. This two-section program examines the numerous issues faced by dementia patients and their caregivers when a decision has to be made about driving. In section one patients and concerned family members express mutual frustration about giving up the keys as...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: This Science Screen Report explores the genetics of aging and the different ways in which biologists study longevity. Citing various experiments with test subjects ranging from fruit flies to elderly humans, the program focuses on genetic structure and how it affects the life span of organisms. Highlighting two important scientific discoveries-the telomere, a genetic sequence determining how...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Aging is a series of transitions, some gradual and some abrupt. How do people come to terms with these changes? This program examines the aging process from beginning to end, defining age from the viewpoints of biology, psychology, society, functionality, and the law. The impact of current behaviors and attitudes on one's future self is also discussed, as well as dying-itself a part of life-and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Emma is 17; her grandmother Pam is 70. In this program, researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Manchester and other educational institutions analyze quantifiable differences between the two women from five different perspectives: genetic, cellular, molecular, motor, and psychological. In the process, they discuss glycation as it relates to cataracts, longevity as it relates to the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: For those who have never faced deep-rooted emotional or psychological problems, it can be difficult to see why maintaining mental health requires more than the capabilities of any one individual. While personal accountability remains an important step toward wellness, the complex demands of society do contribute to mental illness and create obstacles to healing. This program examines mental...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert says our beliefs about what will make us happy are often wrong - a premise he supports with intriguing research as well as his accessible and unexpectedly funny book, Stumbling on Happiness. In this TEDTalk, Gilbert presents findings from his exploration of satisfaction and contentment, sharing simple experiments that viewers can apply to their own lives....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Every day, 25 million Americans provide care for loved ones. This program, hosted by NewsHour's Ray Suarez, looks at the rich rewards and wisdom that often attend such care, as well as at the hard work that home healthcare entails. Drawing on the direct experience of family members and others, including author Beth Witrogen McLeod-whose book Caregiving, the Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Dementing illnesses, whether functional or organic, involve mental and behavioral changes that can be difficult for a caregiver to make sense of-and to cope with. This program addresses the causes of cognitive impairment and presents approaches to caring for adult clients that preserve their dignity. Depression and delirium are given special attention, as well as behaviors common to senile...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2003
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Summary: At the end of life, what many Americans want is physical and spiritual comfort in a home setting. In this program, veteran PBS journalist Bill Moyers presents the important strides being made in the area of palliative care at pioneering institutions such as New York's Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. These advances are bringing peace to those who fear that...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: The news of a loved one's impending death is often accompanied by an initial reaction of fear. In this program, introduced by NewsHour's Ray Suarez and facilitated by Frank Ostaseski, founder of San Francisco's Zen Hospice Project, seven everyday people reflect on their experiences with loss, grief, and healing. Discussing what they fear, how they would say good-bye, and other deeply personal...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory shows how relational patterns set early in life affect emotional bonds later in life. This program’s focus is on attachment theory as it explains many aspects of personality development from childhood through adulthood, with a special emphasis on issues related to attachment in later life as people seek to establish new ties and cope with separations and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007