The Aurora Center for Active Adults is hosting a rare one-day training seminar on how to develop a Memory Action Program for communities that is designed to provide lasting improvements in confidence and memory performance among older citizens.

The workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Aurora Center for Active Adults, 30 Del Mar Circle, is only one of three happening across the United States this year. The cost is $10, which includes lunch.

This grant-funded workshop is taught by Dr. Robin Lea West, director of the Everyday Memory Clinic at the University of Florida, where she also is a professor of psychology and core faculty in the university's Institute on Aging.

West, who has conducted research on memory and aging for more than 20 years, is the author of a popular memory book titled Memory Fitness Over 40, which has been published in four countries.

The workshop, which is tailored toward those who serve older adults at senior centers and other types of facilities, will address the latest research on memory training for older adults, demonstrate a Memory Action Program session with an older adult class, discuss how to implement a Memory Action Program in the community, and teach how to evaluate the impact of a Memory Action Program on a community.

The techniques taught in the seminar are used by West at the Everyday Memory Clinic and are performance based, meaning there are documented results to prove the effectiveness of the techniques.

For instance, in a six-week time period, participants in a Memory Action Program have improved their memory scores over those of control groups from 16 to 42 percent on average, depending on the task; have increased their use of memory strategies by 23 to 41 percent; and significantly elevated their confidence in their memory by 23 percent.

The Memory Action Program strategies have proven to be effective with diverse populations, including a wide range of economic and ethnic backgrounds.

To register, call 303-739-7950.