Diagnosed with youngeronset alzheimers at age 59 and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and psychology today. Greg, good to have you with us. Thank you, ken. Its an honor to be here. Well, tell us about the title of the book. What inspired the title . Well, the title of the book, on pluto, when i was a young Investigative Reporter, i would take sources off record. I covered the mafia and organized crime, and i would tell my sources, im gonna take you out to pluto, where no one can hear what is said. And i was fascinated with the planet pluto. And then, as i got older, you know, men and women, you go and you talk about the unmentionables of life, and my buddies would say, are you taking us out to pluto . And i said, yes. Were off the record. And in this disease, in alzheimers, theres this urge to just drift out, which i have to fight against all the time, and i had to invent a place that i could go to, and i called it pluto. And my maternal grandfather died of alzheimers, my mother died of alzheimers, my paternal uncle died of alzheimers. Before my father passed away, he and theyve been out to pluto, and ive taken family and friends, and someday i wont come back, and i want them to know where i am. Tell me what it was like when you first encountered symptoms. And what were those symptoms like . Well, the symptoms were severe shortterm memory loss, not recognizing family and friends my wife, on two occasions. Picking up a phone and not knowing how to dial. Picking up a lawn sprinkler and not knowing what it is. So, alzheimers, in the early stage, ken, is like a light going off, someone turning a light off in your brain. And you never know when its gonna happen. It shuts up. It shuts down. And it you at times you have no idea where you are, who youre talking to, and then, moments later, youre back on track. Its a short circuit, if you will . Its a total short circuit. The brain okay, i cut up a frog in high school. Its the only thing i did yeah. Your brain is electrical happening. And what do you do to resist that, if you will, to try to get back on track . Well, on pluto is not a book about dying. Its a book about living with alzheimers. As the great bugs bunny once said, dont take life too seriously, cause nobody gets out alive. So my book, on pluto, is not a misery memoir. Its strategies as a journalist that ive learned, taking copious notes with my laptop my macbook and my iphone. I will email myself 30, 40 times a day and then forget that i did it at the end of the day, look at all the emails, and say, oh, my god, ive got to return and i realize that twothirds are from me. Thats amazing. And youll see those emails and thatll be do you even you have any recollection at all of some of those emails . Sometimes i dont. But thats why its you ever lose your thought in a second . Oh, sure. Gone, gone. Well, multiply that by 200,000, and thats what Walking Around like me in jobs who have this disease. Its a disease that can take 20 years to run its course. And everyone seems to think of alzheimers as that end stage, where youre ready to die. And thats the stage that usually people have walked on this journey for 20 years, and im trying to get peoples attention that there are a lot of Young Americans and people around the world who are struggling with this disease and are afraid to talk about it. You know, we have to make alzheimers popular. How long ago were you diagnosed . Five years ago. And can you say at this point you notice the progression of the disease in that five years . Yeah, and it comes on at times there are times when my brain will tell me its okay to open the wood stove at home and push back that smokinghot piece of glass until my skin burns in a seconddegree burn, and there are times that i see things that arent there, and these are scary things to talk about, but as a journalist, shame on me if i dont, because people need to start to talk working through these. And there are people who are watching right now who have earlyonset or may even have the symptoms and are afraid to talk about it. We need to move forward and make this disease popular. How do people know the different degrees, because there is dementia, which is a type of its in the same family, right, but it is not alzheimers . Dementia is the umbrella of which all the cognitive impairments, and alzheimers is the most popular, so to speak. And what it is its basically a loss of self and losing the sense of who you are. Okay. And at what point should somebody seek medical attention . If youre having problems remembering things and its interfering with your daytoday, go get a cognitive test, and go to a pro. Family doctors are wonderful, but in new york there are a lot of pros. Go to a pro and have a cognitive test. Im on the the highest medications i can be taking. And they can slow the progression. Okay. What about suggestions for Family Members . What you know, sometimes, as you point out, you have to email yourself, and you forget you didnt that you even emailed yourself. Yeah. Well, i was both a caregiver Family Caregiver for my mother, and now i have the disease, and, you know, love and touch are so important. And dont overcorrect. If a person with alzheimers dementia says, thats a beautiful blue wall, and its red, you know what . Let it be blue. Does it really matter . Right. Let it be blue. There you go. And how special the time is. We have a picture here i guess we had of your family. How special it was, im sure, for you to spend time with your, those who passed who had the alzheimers in your family and dementia and how special a time it is. I was there when my mother died, and i made her a promise that i would fight this fight. And did your family know . Were developing my mother did, and we were on parallel tracks. She was ahead of me, and there were times when we took our aricept together. No kidding. What would you tell somebody who is recently diagnosed . Have faith. You cant get through this battle without faith, hope, and humor. And im not here to define faith. Im irish catholic, and you can figure that out. But theres a power beyond us. And tap in to it, because you cant take this journey alone. Its isolation. And i can sit here and do this interview, and you can say, well, thats good, but this saps the energy right out of me. And walk in faith, hope, and humor, and its a journey thats gonna take a while. And theres a lot of life left to live, so and my book is about the strategies. Its the first book written by an Investigative Reporter embedded inside the mind of alzheimers. On pluto inside the mind of alzheimers. Its amazing to get it from this perspective from a professional journalist. Im sorry that you have alzheimers, but what a fascinating peek inside, if you will, from an outsider. And for those who have not thought about making a donation, especially at the holidays, the Alzheimers Foundation is a wonderful organization. Its helped so many people. Definitely think about helping out. And if you notice any symptoms in a Family Member or loved one, or if you think you might have these symptoms, dont just sit back. See a professional. Reach out. Greg, thank you so much for being with us today. God bless you. And all the best to you. God bless you as well. Thank you, ken. Were coming right back with the new York Civil Liberties Union their efforts on School Safety issues. [piano playing slow tune] announcer dont wait. Communicate. Make your emergency plan today. Welcome back to new york viewpoint. Im ken rosato. A set of sweeping reforms to the student safety act will result on School Discipline practices and their impact on new york city children. The amendments will require, for the first time, reporting by both the nypd and the department of education on the use of metal detectors, handcuffs, and Emergency Services in city schools. Now, today joining us from the new York Civil Liberties Union, we have donna lieberman, the executive director; johanna miller, their advocacy director; and alexis karteron, a senior staff attorney. Welcome, all three of you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Now, first off, what is the student safety act . Well, the student safety act is a response to the massive use in the new York City Schools over the last decade or so of exclusionary discipline practices suspensions, arrests by police, summonses to go to criminal court instead of a trip to the deans office when a student misbehaves. And for years, it was going on, happening to, how often are these Horror Stories just like oneoffs . Or are they a pattern . And we all saw we watched with horror what happened in South Carolina as a young student is thrown off a chair because she wouldnt obey her teacher. Really . Get thrown off a chair, dragged off in handcuffs . And so transparency about whats happening in schools, about the use of metal detectors, so that we know whos being required to, like, be wanded and patted down as they go into school every day, about the use of handcuffs. How many times are kids being handcuffs . And which kids is it happening to . Is it black kids . Oh, yes. Is it latino kids . Oh, yes. Is it white kids . Not so much. And so the Racial Disparities about whos being impacted by these policies that are really, really harsh, that undermine the School Climate for kids, that push kids from school into schooltoprison pipeline, are clear to parents. And why that . Because if we know whats going on, then we can press for change and thats precisely what we have been doing in new york, what we are doing is to press for change so that schools have a humane and respectful environment for all kids. And to recall, to remember, for people who arent given this truancy law. So, kids are forced by law parents are forced by law to school. And then, once they get there, theyre forced by law to go through the metal detector. Once they go through the metal detector, theyre forced by law so it becomes almost like a police state, beginning to end, and so its kind of nice to know that theres the Civil LibertiesUnion Standing by to kind of make sure things arent pushed just a little too far. Thats right. We think so. [ laughter ] just kind of saying. So, what is the ultimate goal, then, here . What are we looking to do . Just is it just from what i just said, just to make sure, look, we want to keep the kids safe, we want to make sure no one has weapons, we want to make sure that, you know, kids at the same time, we some kids arent mouthing off at the teacher and dont have any they may not have any discipline at home, and so the only discipline theyre getting are at school, and theyre threatening theyre using threatening language at the teacher im creating a scenario here. Clearly i am. Yes. But we dont know that thats not the circumstance. Or maybe saying something threatening to the officer. But at the same time, how far are the limits here . And youre talking about a 16yearold kid versus a 40yearold or 35yearold officer with a weapon. Well, we know that most of what happens to kids in school most of the arrests by police, most of the tickets that students get, and most of the suspensions are for nonviolent infractions, so things like talking back, like being disorderly which show me a 15yearold who isnt disorderly. Thats what we know already, and we know that 95 of the kids who are arrested or given a ticket in school are black and latino. So, were seeing a big gap there, and we believe that students who are disorderly a white student in a school on the Upper East Side and a student whos disorderly in harlem, a black student whos shouldnt be treated so, so differently, and so transparency helps us to think about how we can do School Discipline and maintain safety with also respecting students and keeping their dignity. And also, not every school has metal detectors. Thats right. So how do they even determine which school gets a metal detector and which school doesnt . Im so glad you asked that, because thats a question that weve been wondering for a very long time, and the nypd and the department of education have not been at all forthcoming about that that process, but thats one of the great reforms of the student safety act, that now well know which schools have metal detectors, kids and parents can know when theyre considering which high school to apply to, where theyre going to go, what kind of an environment theyre sending their kids into. Yeah, because i may not want i mean, some parents may want i want my kid to go through a metal detector and blah blah, that may make them safer. But other parents may say, wait a second, i dont want my kid subjected to that. One of the things that were gonna learn from the student safety act is how often and which kids are getting handcuffed. And, you know, nobody has that information now, nobody. And but we at the Civil Liberties union get complaints and reports about kids getting handcuffed handcuffed to each other, handcuffed to the radiator. Why . For refusing to close the book . For refusing to put the cellphone away . Thats crazy. What happened to calling the parents . Well, but theres one other point that i want to make, which is also, kids with special needs, kids who are supposed to be getting special attention because they have special needs, behavioral needs or academic, processing needs, adhd, who have, who are entitled to special supports instead of getting special supports, all too often, particularly if they are black or latino, they are being subjected to arrests but i have to ask you, then, how much of that is the parents . If the parent knows the kid has no, no. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me ask you a question before you jump and give me an answer. I think thats a good idea. Let me ask you a question. At what point does the parent not say, does my child have adhd . Have the responsibility to ask their doctor or the school to test their child for adhd . But what im saying is that kids who have been diagnosed and have been given whats called an individual educational plan or behavioral plan and are therefore, by law, entitled to special support services are getting arrested for following their plan. Well, that should be liable. Schools should be liable for that. So thats the problem, and i think that and we know that for black kids with special needs, the problem of being thrown out of school or thrown into jail is really much greater. So, what were talking about is treating all children with dignity and respect in school. My question is do schools not have in place an abc procedure . Before it escalates to handcuffing, dont schools have a method where, okay, step a, Principals Office. Step c, theyre still getting violent, now we get the police involved. Some schools do, but not enough schools, and theres no requirement that they go through progressive steps of discipline, which is something that the Civil Liberties union and many of our allies have been working to require for many, many years. And thats another thing that transparency helps us to determine, is are they leaping to the most severe consequence at the very first offense . Or is there a progression of discipline . And what kind of reaction have you gotten from schools with this, with the act . Well, i think it really kind of varies. I think some schools are very understanding of the need for these kinds of reforms. There are a lot of principals and teachers around the city who understand that sending kids to the police for minor infractions is not a good idea. And were seeing more and more principals and schools wake up to that idea, that they need to be part of the solution and they cant overrely on the police for minor misbehavior. And, you know, the good news is that while things dont change overnight, culture doesnt change overnight, the arresting kids in school for what should be a trip to the Principals Office is not a good idea, and hes recognized the Racial Disparities in these overly harsh disciplines. And so hes convened and we work with a Leadership Task force to develop reforms in the way the schools do the business of safety and discipline. Principals, remember, you were kids in school, too. Yeah. Right. Think back to those days. Donna, johanna, alexis, thank you for being here today. Thank you. Good luck with the act. Really. Thank you. And, everybody, chill pill. [ laughter ] chill pill. For information on all the organizations featured on viewpoint, and if youve missed part of this show and want to see it at your leisure, do visit us at abc7ny. Com viewpoint. Were gonna be right back with some very Important Information on preventing burn injuries. Welcome back to new york viewpoint. Im ken rosato. The American Burn Association states that roughly 450,000 patients receive hospital and emergencyroom treatment for burns each year. According to the cdc, burns and fires are the thirdleading cause of death in the home. In 2010, a firerelated death occurred every 169 minutes. A fire injury occurred every 30 minutes. Please join me in welcoming william lerner, who is a burnprevention expert and an inventor. Recently hes been praised by many burn centers for his patents for an excessive temperature warning on glassfronted gas fireplaces and gas ranges and cooktops. Good to have you with us. Good morning, ken. So, tell me about what led you to all your inventions and patents. Well, what led me to it was that i was almost burned on a cooktop, and i thought that there should be an indicator light saying that the grates are it was burns are devastating injuries, so you really need every bit of precaution that you can possibly have. So that little light was your concept . Yes, it was. So, you see that every and all the stoves have them now and no, the stoves dont have them because the manufacturers dont see it as an issue. And unfortunately, the Consumer ProductSafety Commission only surveys 129 hospitals for data, and if you count all of the hospitals and urgent care centers, there were over 12,500. So, the data is being correlated from only 1 . No kidding. Of all treatment centers. cause my glasstop stove does have it now. Yes, but not the gas cooktop stove. Oh, the gas dont. I got it. So youre trying to get the gas yes, the gas stoves, because you cant mix gas and electric safely, and ive invented a new way to use light for status and safety, so there is no reason that these gas cooktops should not have the safety feature. So, the technology that makes a total amount of sense cause i guess normally any electric feature on a gas stove is on the back, not on the surface. The danger zone is. That is fascinating, of course something that the noninventor would never give any thought to, and thats why you have the inventor mind. Thats why i did it. It was driven by need. That is brilliant. Thank you. [ laughs ] as the inventor says, thank you. You know its brilliant. How many different patents do you have . I have 14 patents in five different fields. And some tips on burn safety, what should people be careful, probably everyday things that we dont that we just take for granted . Well, first of all, be mindful. You dont text and drive. Dont text and cook. It takes one second at 167 degrees for a burn injury. And when youre entertaining and fires are a big problem now in thanksgiving and Christmas Season dont put cookies or wine glasses or anything tempting near the stove as you cook. And new york, most people live in small apartments. So keep everybody out of the kitchen and make at least a 4foot buffer zone from the ranges. How about when youre pulling something out of the stove, have a landing site ready. For the hot item. Which i didnt do last week, and everybody saw what happened as i dropped the 500degree pot onto the ground because i didnt have a place and my hands started to burn. Exactly. And thats why you want to keep children 4 feet away from the cooktops and the ranges at all times. Yeah. And its just always have good they now have really good silpat and i dont mean to name one particular brand, but they have the really good grips that you can get in stores, that are not that expensive. A wet dish towel is not what you want to pick up a is not an answer. Right. What you actually want is a fullbody a full hand glove. You dont want a pot. You dont want a towel. You want to be protected. Because the inside of the oven, the racks can heat up to up to 1,850 degrees. So it only takes a second or so. It takes a second, and less for children and the elderly. And children tend to freeze, and so do elderly. And their skin is actually thinner, so you really want to take a precaution when you have the inlaws over, the parents, with your environment. What are the most common causes for burns in the home . I mean, we tend right away, we think stove, but is it stove . Is it fireplace . Is it a boiler . A hotwater heater . Its actually everything, and you really need to be mindful. I talk to people and i interview them on how they got burned, and there are just so many ways that it happens, so anything thats hot, and you just need to pay attention. Yeah. What about glassfronted fireplaces . Oh, i spent two years working on glassfronted fireplaces. I was part of the hot temperature working group, and we rewrote the new standards for the glassfronted gas fireplaces. They present an incredible danger for people because most people think that the glass barrier is a safe place. And if they look at the way an oven door is, you can touch the oven door, but you cant touch the glass panel. Its not the same technology. Those glassfronted panels can heat up to 550 degrees. I had no idea. Yes. And the actual standard 1,328 degrees fahrenheit. Thats insane. It is absolutely because the oven glass is insulated, right . The oven glass is yes, its called cooltouch technology. And theres a thermal barrier, so a child can put his hands on the glass of the oven door. But that was never required for these fireplaces . No. No. And consumers people make the mistake. They think that its the same as the oven door. But no ones born learning how to no one is born knowing how to use an appliance. So it is my mission to teach people that that glass can either be cool you may see one at one of the bigbox stores you may see a decorative fireplace or you may see one thats engineered to be 500 degrees fahrenheit. So you never know. Never go near it. Always treat it as its on. And if a little kid wanders over to the front of one of those without having any knowledge and puts their little hand on something i have many, many people that i deal with that that has happened. One of the most tragic things is the remote control. So theres no status indicator, and one child was playing with it, turned on the glassfronted fireplace, and the brother walked up to it and put his hands on it. William lerner, we are out of time, but i want to thank you so much for these great tips. Very important, especially at the holiday time as people are around the house, all these the flames on the fireplaces and the stoves going. Exactly. Thank you for being here. Thank you, ken. Im ken rosato. We thank you again for joining us. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Byebye. I just want the most wonderful holiday ever. You should get holiday scratchoffs from the new york lottery. You can talk . Come on, brian. Theres more chances to win than ever. Like 4 new holiday games. With a Second Chance sweepstakes to win 500 a week for life. Youre talking. Youre talking. You could buy a huge flatscreen. Or a huge turkey. And eat it words are. Two words speed boat. wife who are you talking to . Nobody from the new york lottery. More ways to make life wonderful. Meet the moores were the moore family, and as you can see, we need an internet that can do more. We do more games, and more streaming. So we need more speed. Thats why we switched to Time Warner Cable. You can too. Call now. Now we can connect more devices, at the same time. The wifi in this house is amazing. So is my guacamole. Hi grandma and grandpa ha, look at that [laughs] Time Warner Cable even has an internet plan for us. Get the Internet Speed thats right for you. From 3 megs to ultra fast 300 megs they even made it easy to switch with a onehour arrival window. Why settle for less, when you can get more get 50 meg internet for 39. 99 per month. Call now. You could get free installation, no data cap, and access to over 400,000 twc wifi hotspots