OT 537 Neuro Note #1: Still Alice

I watched the movie Still Alice, which is based on the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova. This movie was incredibly eye-opening to the experiences a person has with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Alice, the main character, gave a glimpse of what it was like to be living with Alzheimer’s disease. She said it was like being able to see the words you want to say hanging right in front of you, but you just can’t reach them. Alice also said that she was mastering the art of losing, and that she wasn’t suffering, she was struggling. I feel that hearing and seeing Alice’s experiences will help me to better empathize with clients who have this disease. I was also able to see the challenges that not only Alice faced, but her family faced as well. As occupational therapists, it is important that we also include the family/care-givers in interventions to better educate and help them too. I chose to watch this movie because my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in his early 70’s, so I was interested in seeing how early-onset Alzheimer’s disease affected someone. In this movie, I saw how painful it was for Alice’s family to watch the disease progress, just as it was with my family. I watched my grandfather go through the stages of the disease like Alice did, except my grandfather’s progression was slower. Much like Alice, my grandfather was a brilliant man, and it was really hard for my family to see the intelligent man we knew revert back to an almost childlike state. Still Alice was a very insightful movie, and I feel that I learned some valuable things that will help me as an occupational therapist. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who is looking to see Alzheimer’s disease from a patient/client’s perspective or just looking for a really good movie to watch!

Koffler, P., Lutzus, L. & James, B. (Producers) & Glatzer, R. & Westmoreland, W. (Directors).

            (2014). Still Alice [Motion picture]. United States: Sony Pictures.