There is not a magic pill, at least not yet, that can prevent memory loss, ward off cognitive decline, or keep us young and healthy forever, but we can help to maintain our brain health by reducing stress, having a positive attitude, engaging in social activities, being more physically active and challenging ourselves mentally. If…
This week I welcome Vicki Tapia as a guest blogger, family care partner, and advocate for people with dementia. By Vicki Tapia: In 2004, my father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s-related dementia and a few months later, my mother with Alzheimer’s disease. That was the year I became a caregiver. While my parents didn’t reside with me,…
Person-Centered Care puts considerable value on an individual’s right to make decisions concerning every aspect of her or his life. Often long-term care providers want to honor resident choice, but are afraid to do so because of fear of injury or risk of liability. The key is to find the balance between providing good care…
In honor of National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and National Family Caregivers Month this November, I am offering some helpful tips for the many men and women helping to care for and support their loved ones with Alzheimer’s Disease or another type of dementia. Below are the top five most effective tips for positive communication…
As health care professionals, our role is to collaborate with older adults, to help them fill-in the gaps of their abilities and to help them succeed at doing what they want to do. Brush Development Company is offering a new 12-hour online, one-on-one private course that invites, encourages and challenges speech-language pathologists and other health…
Fear, frustration and stress – Being a care partner of a loved one with dementia is physically and emotionally difficult, but help and support are available. I Care: A Handbook for Care Partners of People With Dementia, written by Jennifer Brush and Kerry Mills, provides caregivers a sense of hope and inspiration to make the…
Congratulations to the staff at Fundacion Nuevo Hohar LeDor VaDor for enthusiastically completing their first Montessori for Dementia workshop. Approximately 35 staff members from a large Jewish home for the aged in Buenos Aires spent time in intense training with me in September. As I reflect on my time with the staff, I can’t help…
Jennifer Brush was recently featured in an article from the October 2015 issue of ASHA Leader, published by the American Speech and Hearing Association. In the article, entitled “Stepping Up to the Plate,” Jennifer was interviewed about her person-centered approach to helping older adults with dementia find ways to enjoy the foods they love while…
“The purpose of this article is to outline the findings of several systematic reviews of this literature, highlighting the areas of improvement needs, and to describe a new person-centered care model, DementiAbility Methods: The Montessori Way. This model focuses on the abilities, needs, interests, and strengths of the person and creating worthwhile and meaningful roles, routines, and activities for…
The power of reminiscence is a tool that should not be underestimated in dementia care. Long-term memory involves the retrieval process and permanent storage of an unlimited amount of information and the ability to retrieve this information again at another time. One type of storage system is called non-declarative memory. Non-declarative memory begins to develop…
Task breakdown is the process of helping a person successfully participate in or complete an activity by making it a step-by-step process. People with dementia often become confused when there are many steps in a sequence. However, when we break an activity into its individual steps, and present each step one at a time, people…
Some see their glass as half empty; others see their glass as half full. So, which is it? Well, it all depends on where you choose to focus your thoughts. When we focus on negative things, we seem to see more negative things all around us. Living with dementia is not easy, and caring for…
