Student garners interest for Alzheimer’s support group

Her father’s early-onset Alzheimer’s disease has been a part of every day of Mariah Streck’s life. He was diagnosed before she was born. 

“Growing up, his disease progressed and, I mean, it’s a very unique situation,” Streck said. “We kept [my father] at home as long as possible.”

Streck’s father, Donald Streck, passed away in March 2007 at the age of 64. 

As a part of her final project for nursing clinical hours, Streck, a senior nursing major, is creating a support group aimed toward young adults aged 16 to 25 who grew up having a parent with Alzheimer’s. The group’s name, Growing Up Purple, features the official Alzheimer’s awareness color. 

Streck, who works with Alzheimer’s patients during clinical hours at Pitt’s Alzheimer Disease Research Center, said there currently isn’t much support available for teenagers and young adults whose parents have Alzheimer’s. Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease is rare, and only 5 percent of people with Alzheimer’s are diagnosed before 65, according to the Alzheimer’s Association website. 

To extend the group’s reach beyond the Pitt community, Streck plans to conduct support group meetings on Google Hangouts, an online video chat service. Streck said she hopes to increase participation across the state of Pennsylvania through promotion in medical publications and local news outlets.

Streck is currently in the process of recruiting members to take part in the group’s first meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Google Hangouts.

Streck trained with the Research Center to learn how to facilitate the support group and is looking forward to the first night. 

“I worked alongside my mom as a caregiver,” Streck said. “And it wasn’t something I could easily explain or share with my peers, because a majority of people know [of the disease] because of their grandparents.” 

Donna Simpson, clinical research coordinator at the Research Center, can also attest to Streck’s experience. 

“She also was here following our clinical patients here at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center,” Simpson said. “So she also was able to interact with some of these folks in this population.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s website, the organization hosts more than 70 chapters nationwide and is devoted to enhancing the care and treatment of the disease’s sufferers.

Jennifer Lingler, assistant professor of nursing and medicine at Pitt’s School of Medicine, acted as an administrative supervisor over Streck’s clinical hours and Growing Up Purple. In addition to working at the Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Lingler sits on the board of the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

With faith in Streck’s mission, Lingler assisted her in forging connections with people from the Alzheimer’s Association and gaining their support for Growing Up Purple.

“[Streck] is using technology to bring together people who are otherwise so isolated — and going through something that’s such an isolating experience,” Lingler said. “So that’s not easy to talk about among one’s usual peer group.”

Lingler will attend the first meeting to field any questions beyond Streck’s knowledge base. 

Streck said the meetings will include a brief informational session on one specific aspect of the disease and will possibly feature YouTube videos and other technologies.

The remainder of the session will be open to discussion from the group. Streck said her goal is to have enough members to split the discussion groups apart into subgroups based on age. 

“I think anyone with a family member or a loved one who has Alzheimer’s — it can just be very frustrating,” Streck said. “So I think the best thing that [group members] will be able to do is just vent and have someone to share stories with, and from there, create tips and techniques on how to deal with different behaviors.”