ABSTRACT
Many older adults are understandably concerned about their memory functioning. Media attention to the dementing illnesses, particularly Alzheimer's disease, has alerted the public to the extraordinary effects of pathological cognitive impairment. Superimposed on this attention is the considerable evidence that there are age-related decrements in memory function that are non-pathological in nature. Thus, the older adult is left with the nettlesome question of evaluating their own memory failures and judging whether they are ‘normal’ or indicative of a disease process. It is no wonder that many participants in memory training programmes ask the question ‘Am I going senile?’ This chapter will present information on memory training for community-dwelling older adults. Given the number of elders who are concerned about their memory, this topic has wide application for the practitioner who works with older adults and presents many opportunities for the gerontological researcher. The chapter will also address through speculation the reasons for the relatively infrequent utilization of memory training for older adults, despite some accumulating evidence that such training has modest yet reliable benefits for participants.
