Huntington's Disease from an Outside Perspective

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Kristen Powers started and ended this TED Talk with a question: What would you do if you had one hundred years to live? She speaks on the importance of taking advantage of today to get yourself to where you want to be because neither tomorrow nor one hundred years is ever guaranteed. Kristen lives by and promotes this philosophy because she grew up having to watch her mother's independence, mobility, ability to communicate and make decisions be taken away little by little. Her mother was diagnosed with Huntington's disease, a genetic brain disorder that causes movement, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders. 

Imagine being a teen wondering if you might have the same genes as your mother and wondering what person would possibly take of care of you with this progressive downhill disease. Imagine growing up worrying about this impending doom and still being optimistic enough to encourage others. That takes strength! I enjoyed listening to Kristen's point of view and seeing her use her wisdom and courage to inspire others. I chose this TED Talk because I was interested in hearing how someone as young as Kristen was, interpret and cope with this kind of disease. 

Talking to the family is just as, if not more, important as talking to the client at hand, especially if this client has this incurable deteriorating disease. As a future OT practitioner who might encounter this in the field, hearing this perspective of someone on the outside of the diagnosis is helpful to imagine when talking to the family and caregivers of someone with HD.


Powers, K. (2012, April 33). The innerkid philosophy [video]. TED. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6JiBiMqiI4





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