Creating a Home Memory Center
| | | |

Creating a Home Memory Center

by Jennifer Brush and published by the Ohio Council for Cognitive Health Creating a memory center in the home can create a sense of security and reduce anxiety because the person knows just where to look for important information.  Simple, low-cost changes can be made to help people living with cognitive impairment to be more…

Advocating for Montessori Elder Care in Finland: Jennifer’s Fulbright Project
| | |

Advocating for Montessori Elder Care in Finland: Jennifer’s Fulbright Project

My work through the Fulbright Finland Specialist program in the area of Public/Global Health focused on building staff competencies in person-centered care using the Montessori philosophy of living applied to elders.  The Fulbright Specialist project was hosted by MuistiMontessori, the only association in Finland dedicated to applying the Montessori philosophy to individuals living with cogntive…

Making the Pitch! Bringing Montessori to Your Care Community
| | |

Making the Pitch! Bringing Montessori to Your Care Community

Implementing Montessori involves culture change throughout the community. You can’t do it alone. You will need the full buy-in of your community’s leadership. So how do you prepare the bring this idea to your leadership team?   Review the community’s mission and vision. Align your proposal with the organization’s objectives. Whatever you propose for the…

From Surviving to Thriving: 10-Day Toolkit for Care Partners
| |

Introducing “From Surviving to Thriving: A 10-Day Toolkit for Care Partners”

by Mariam Boulos Hello Everyone! My name is Mariam Boulos. I am completing my doctorate in Occupational Therapy at Cleveland State University. Over the past few months, I had the pleasure of completing my capstone project at Brush Development Company in Northeast Ohio.   To give a bit of background, when I was looking for an…

Enhancing Engagement Through Volunteers
|

Enhancing Engagement Through Volunteers

In a time when we are all experiencing frustrations about being short staffed, we should consider engaging healthy, older adults living in our communities who have the time and interest to help others.  Many retired individuals are more than willing to spend a few hours a week with frail or cognitively impaired elders to enhance…

Enhancing Engagement through Volunteers
|

Enhancing Engagement through Volunteers

In a time when we are all experiencing frustrations about being short staffed, we should consider engaging healthy, older adults living in our communities who have the time and interest to help others.  Many retired individuals are more than willing to spend a few hours a week with frail or cognitively impaired elders to enhance…

Helping People Find Their Way Through Your Community
| |

Helping People Find Their Way Through Your Community

Individuals living in senior living residences often face challenges in wayfinding for a variety of reasons that include reduced short-term memory, difficulty with visual acuity, and limitations in the built environment that inhibit route-finding.  Due to these considerations, individuals may demonstrate reduced involvement in a community and/or increased need for assistance; therefore, reducing their independence. …

Shedding Light on Hallucinations
| |

Shedding Light on Hallucinations

Visuoperceptual Ability: “Visuoperceptual ability is a component of visual perception that enables recognition of objects based on their form, pattern, and color.”  (Irani, F. (2011). Visuoperceptual. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY.) There are a number of visuoperceptual difficulties related to dementia such as: Common experiences…