The article begins with the questions of whether or not the intellectual capacity of the elderly can be enhanced, and, if so, how can health care givers aid this enhancement?For the purposes of this article, intelligence is defined as including verbal comprehension, ability to reason, coordination between visual and motor abilities, ability studies are quoted together with their results. There follows, then a discussion of specific problems relating to the stated areas of intellectual functioning, and with each problem area, discussion of ways to facilitate (he individual's ability to function.It is this author's hope that the health care givers may be given a new understanding of sometimes wrongly perceived intellectual deficits as well as ways of helping the elderly with actual deficits which are in fact not deficits of intelligence. By so doing, a sense of dignity and hope may be injected into the care of the elderly.