The Alzheimer’s Project: Grandpa Do You Know Who I Am?

“GRANDPA, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” WITH MARIA SHRIVER,

PART OF THE PIONEERING MULTI-PLATFORM SERIES

THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT,

TELLS STORIES OF CHILDREN COPING WITH A GRANDPARENT

LIVING WITH ALZHEIMER’S WHEN IT DEBUTS ON MAY 11 ON HBO

“I’ve been a child of Alzheimer’s since my father, Sargent Shriver, was diagnosed in 2003. My children are children of Alzheimer’s and I’ve learned a lot from them in how to deal with a parent who has Alzheimer’s. There are many lessons that our children can teach us as more and more of us deal with parents who have Alzheimer’s.”

— Maria Shriver

THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT: “GRANDPA, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” WITH MARIA SHRIVER is geared towards children and young teens coping with a grandparent’s illness, presenting vignettes that can help a child understand and deal with a relative’s gradual decline into Alzheimer’s. Inspired by her children’s book “What’s Happening to Grandpa?,” and her own experience with her father, Sargent Shriver, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, Maria Shriver provides commentary and guidance in five lessons that offer advice on how grandchildren can cope with the experiences of having loved ones with the disease.

“GRANDPA, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” WITH MARIA SHRIVER provides ways for young people to understand a grandparent’s loss of memory and understand that this experience, though painful, is a part of life. Featuring five portraits of children facing their grandparents’ illness, the half-hour documentary debuts MONDAY, MAY 11 (7:30-8:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, and is part of the multi-platform, four-part documentary series THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT, created by the award-winning team behind HBO’s acclaimed “Addiction.”

Other HBO playdates: May 12 (4:00 p.m.), 15 (9:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m.), 17 (3:00 p.m.), 23 (8:15 a.m.) and 27 (6:30 a.m.)

HBO 2 playdates: May 13 (9:30 p.m.) and 20 (noon, 11:00 p.m.)

While there is no cure for the disease, THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT shows there is now genuine reason to be optimistic about the future. THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT takes a close look at groundbreaking discoveries made by the country’s leading scientists, as well as the effects of this debilitating and fatal disease both on those with Alzheimer’s and on their families.

The five lessons of “GRANDPA, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” WITH MARIA SHRIVER include:

Lesson 1: There Are No Silly Questions You Can Ask About Alzheimer’s

The first segment shows siblings Genevieve, 13, Margaret, 10, and Liam, 8, talking with their grandfather, who is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, asking how the disease is affecting him and discussing the future of their relationship with him. Shriver stresses the importance of bringing the disease out into the open, recalling, “When my father was diagnosed, this was not a disease that people wanted to talk about. The more families sit down and have these open, honest conversations where everybody can air their questions and express their fears – that is empowering and really helpful.”

Lesson 2: When It Comes To Alzheimer’s, Just Go With The Flow As Best You Can

Thousands of children are increasingly involved in difficult caregiver responsibilities at home. Sarah, 15, takes care of her grandmother, who is in a more advanced stage of Alzheimer’s. Though distraught by her grandmother’s mood swings, Sarah finds that playing Elvis for her brings her grandmother back to a happier state.

Lesson 3: It’s Okay To Be Afraid Of Alzheimer’s

Shriver also discusses the difficulties of traveling long distances to visit grandparents. Sisters Megan, 15, and Danielle, 13, find it painful to see their grandmother, who no longer knows who they are. Having to travel hundreds of miles across two states – from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts – the girls are reticent to visit again. They want to keep the memory of their grandmother as she was before the disease fully took hold.

Lesson 4: Sometimes It’s The Disease Talking, Not Your Grandparent

Ashanti, 11, visits her grandmother every day after school, and finds her loving at one moment, and unexpectedly cruel at others. Shriver explains that when people suffering from Alzheimer’s get angry or don’t speak, it isn’t because of the people around them, but rather the result of the disease. But showing up and being there can bring love into that person’s life for a period of time.

Lesson 5: You Can Be The Keeper Of Memories

Alyssa, 15, decides to understand more about her grandmother’s life before Alzheimer’s by making a documentary. She interviews many of her close friends, goes through old pictures with her father, and asks her grandfather why he first fell in love with her grandmother. Shriver encourages children to learn more about the full and vibrant lives that their grandparent lived before he or she was affected by Alzheimer’s, and remembers the life her own father lived before the disease.

Seeking to bring a wider understanding of the disease, THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT features a four-part documentary series, 15 short supplemental films, a robust website and a nationwide community-based information and outreach campaign. A book by Public Affairs Books was developed by the producers as a companion to the project. HBO will use all of its platforms, including the HBO main service, multiplex channels, HBO On Demand, HBO Podcasts, hbo.com, HBO Channel on YouTube and DVD sales, to support the project. In addition, all films will stream free of charge on hbo.com and will be offered for free on multiple platforms by participating television service providers.

The three other documentaries in THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT are: “The Memory Loss Tapes,” providing an up-close and personal look at seven individuals living with Alzheimer’s, each in an advancing state of dementia, ranging across the full spectrum of the progression of the disease; the two-part “Momentum in Science,” exploring the latest research advances; and “Caregivers,” highlighting the sacrifices and successes of people who experience their loved ones’ descent into dementia.

“GRANDPA, DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” WITH MARIA SHRIVER is directed by Eamon Harrington and John Watkin.

THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT is presented by HBO Documentary Films and the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health in association with the Alzheimer’s Association®, Fidelity® Charitable Gift Fund and Geoffrey Beene Gives Back® Alzheimer’s Initiative. The series producer is John Hoffman; the executive producers are Sheila Nevins and Maria Shriver.

For more information on THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT and Alzheimer’s Disease, go to HBO.com/alzheimers.