Category: Alzheimer’s

Celebrating 100 Years with Virginia Bell

June 30, 2022 marks the 100th birthday of Virginia Bell, one of the most influential thought leaders in the field of dementia care over the last four decades, who continues to this day to improve the lives of people with dementia and their caregivers. HPP sat down with the legendary author, speaker, and advocate to look back on 100 years and look forward towards the future of dementia care. What influenced you to start your career later in life? What motivated you to choose to work in dementia care? I received my undergraduate degree in math and chemistry but as…

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Tips for Communicating with People with Dementia

We communicate in some way with everyone around us all day. It is easy to think of communication as spoken words, but we also communicate with writing, signs, gestures, expressions, intonation, volume, colors, sounds, and even our clothing. Impaired or diminished memory, attention and concentration, perception and visuospatial functions, hearing, and visual acuity all make it difficult for people with dementia to communicate effectively. When communicating with a person with dementia, keep these tips in mind: Ask the person, “What would you like me to call you?” Always speak respectfully and use age-appropriate language when communicating with older adults with…

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They Are Glad They Caught It Early: Am I?

An essay by Richard Taylor, Ph.D. I have talked with dozens of people in their 30s and 40s who have been diagnosed with early-onset (defined as anyone under the age 65 who is diagnosed), early-stage (the first of a three-stage description of the disease) Alzheimer’s disease. I was 58 when I was officially diagnosed. After hearing the diagnosis, I cried every day for three weeks. My neurologist told me that 95% of the people he diagnoses with Alzheimer’s are not ever tested. The patients, most of whom are in their mid-to-late 70s, would not be able…

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30 Activities to Do in 30 Seconds or Less

Planned activities do not happen all day long. Individuals with the ability to think through how to spend their time can initiate being with others or spending time alone. Persons with dementia often cannot do this. They need help—not only in structured activity—but also in relational interactions throughout the day. These 30 simple, unstructured interactions are not on the activity calendar, but they are probably the most important of the ways that we interact with persons with dementia. Greet the person by name Make eye contact and smile Shake hands Ask someone…

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What Is It Like to Have Alzheimer’s Disease?

Retired psychologist Richard Taylor, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 58. What is it like to drive your car from Houston to Anchorage? The answer depends on many things: the type of care you will drive, the age of the car, how well you maintained it, where you are in your trip, if others are helping you with the drive, if you have accepted the fact you must drive to Anchorage, whether or not you are afraid of arriving in Anchorage. What is it like to have Alzheimer’s? This, too, depends on many things: Do you have an existing group…

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Moments Add Up and Make a Difference

We’d like for you to consider the following two scenarios. As you read them, we think you’ll begin to see how persons with dementia have many of the same needs that we do and how being a Best Friend can be a powerful tool for supporting quality of life. Scenario 1 Imagine meeting an old friend for lunch and finding your normally upbeat, positive friend in tears. As a friend, how would you respond? You would probably: Ask her what is wrong. Try to get more information. She tells you that she has been laid off from a job that…

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Q&A with Lydia Burdick, author of ‘The Sunshine on My Face’

10 years ago you wrote the first book in the Two-Lap® Series, The Sunshine on My Face. How did you develop the idea for such a unique book? My mother had mid- to late-stage dementia, and I was feeling frustrated during my visits with her. She would basically sit in the den, have something to eat and drink, and watch TV. Mom wasn’t speaking or smiling. We were definitely not doing anything together that brought happiness to either one of us during our visits. One visit, I casually gave my mother a magazine to look at.

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It’s Time to Revolutionize Elder Care

Dr. Al Power, award-winning author and internationally renowned geriatrician, opened the 2016 Eden Alternative International Conference with his keynote address focusing on the conference theme: It’s about time. Always an eloquent speaker, Al presented the audience with four points, all prefaced with, “It’s about time we…” Groundbreaking and possibly even controversial, the ideas presented here are entirely person-directed (the absolute core of culture change). Dr. Power presents his ideas with examples of model communities who adopted these practices—across the board, there was an increase in improved lives of elders in dementia care facilities. The…

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