059 Chapter 5 Impact of the age awareness workshop Case study: A new perspective on ageing Shruti, aged care worker Since participating in the workshop, Shruti’s perceptions of older age have shifted significantly. Previously she thought that older age meant limited mobility and other health challenges that come with ageing, and living in an aged care facility. She now recognises that there are many more possibilities, which she has spoken about with colleagues and friends. She tries to get others to see that a lot of people remain healthy and active in older age. She has also become more aware of the media promoting the idea of older adults as frail and older age as something to be resisted, while being younger is attractive and what you want to maintain. She is trying to remind herself that this is not true. [Before the workshop] My perception was that maybe the majority of older people lived in residential age care. [I now realise] that’s not correct, the majority of older people live independently in the community. I’ve talked to my colleagues about how getting older isn’t as bad as we think – that reality is different from what we think. We might have a more filled life. I’m more optimistic about my own ageing now. 5.4 Language Figure 17. Proportion of respondents in the follow-up survey who rethought the way they communicate with older people Rethought the way I communicate with older people 90% Yes 10% No Language was a key theme in the qualitative data from open-ended survey questions and postworkshop discussions. In the follow-up survey, respondents shared becoming more aware of ageist language – both their own and that of others around them. They commented on making changes to the language they use to refer to, and communicate with, older adults, including avoiding ‘elderspeak’ – a style of speech characterised by the use of simplified language, terms of endearment (eg, calling someone ‘Love’ or ‘Sweetie’), elevated pitch, and slower pace.97 I have changed how I talk about older people and have instigated change in the workplace by leading with example. The language I use has changed when speaking to patients who are older. I am more mindful and aware of the language I use and the way I speak with older people.