Proposal for next project

Lauren Linz
Mr. Griffin
10 November 2008
Loss of Past Memories
Description of Project:
For my project, I will be doing a power point on Alzheimer’s disease. I became extremely interested in this disease after my grandma’s sister became diagnosed with it and the disease then caught my eye again after taking Anatomy and Physiology. I was even able to see the disease first hand when I worked in my dad’s office and patients would come in for a regular physical who were at the early stage of the disease. I have decided for this project that I would like to do a power point on the disease so I can become even more familiar with the disease. Since I have a little bit of a background on the disease as well as first hand connections with the disease, I feel that a report on Alzheimer’s will help not only my family but also myself and others be more familiar with it. Throughout my power point, I would like to incorporate background information on the disease (who first discovered it and how long it has been around for), symptoms of the disease, diagnosis, treatments, emotional and physical factors on the family and patient, as well any other information or pictures that could help the audience better understand the disease.
Genre:
This power point will take the form of an informational side on the disease which would cause it to be a non-fictional piece. Facts and statists will make up the majority of the power point however, I may include a couple of interviews either from doctors that have seen the disease, family members of a patient who has the disease, or the patient themselves. Interviewing the patient may be hard to do considering many are unable to have a full out conversation when they are in the later stages of the disease. The power point will take a more serious voice since the information will not be persuasive but rather factual.
Intended Audience:
The intended audience for this power point will be either students who are in an anatomy class who are learning about the disease as well as families who have an elderly person in their family who they feel is overly forgetful with their everyday activities. Many times people attribute loss of memory to old age, however, sometimes they overlook the idea of Alzheimer’s and the disease is not caught until it is in a late stage. It is good for families to be familiar with this disease because many patients are in denial of their loss of memory and actions need to be taken early on in the disease. This power point can also be intended towards families who have recently had one of their loved ones diagnosed with the disease so they can become more familiar with the disease and develop an understanding of Alzheimer’s. With having a better understand of the disease as well as the varying treatments they have to offer, a family may feel less overwhelmed when different stages arise throughout Alzheimer’s.
Purpose:
Since my most recent paper was on health care costs, Alzheimer’s disease was brought up a lot throughout my research. It began to interest me and I felt that it would be a good follow up to my paper. Also, with having a major in Zoology, I enjoy researching and writing papers on scientific matters because I will have to deal with diseases and other health situations for my occupation for the rest of my life. I always like to incorporate science in my research because I feel like I learn the most from these topics and they are interesting to me. I also understand that the disease is continuing to arise more frequently among the elderly population and without having a cure for it yet, it can be an extremely devastating disease to not only the patient but also the family. The disease is also carried genetically which can be frightening to have to deal with after watching a loved one suffer through it for so many years. I want to become more informed on the disease because I could someday have the disease since it is in my genetics which is a scary thought to me.