I am very pleased to introduce you to our guest blogger this week, Kathy Birkett, RDN. Kathy is a registered and licensed dietitian nutritionist with over thirty years of experience helping patients, clients and their family members achieve healthy lives through nutrition. She has provided nutrition advice to people in a variety of settings,…
Jennifer Brush, MA,CCC/SLP with Karen Betz Summer holidays, cookouts, and family picnics can be hard on someone who has a swallowing problem. This week I have asked Karen Betz to serve as a guest for our blog. Karen recently started a business called Smoothe Foods. Karen was a caregiver for both of her parents. Her…
“You really love me, don’t you?” By Kerry Mills My weekly visits to the Convent are where I can usually count on having at least one of the highlights of my week. This Convent is where the retired sisters are living, and about eight months ago I started training the staff and creating a program…
Living with Purpose By Jennifer Brush, MA, CCC/SLP Each and every one of us likes to feel that we are needed. We like to help out, make a difference and be useful. Helping others adds purpose and meaning to our life. Completing a job-well-done gives a boost to our self-esteem. People with dementia have the…
In honor of Better Hearing and Speech month, I’d like to say a few words about communication and the relationships we have with our loved ones with dementia. I’d like to share a story with you. Last year I worked with a client who lived with frontotemporal degeneration. I made a once weekly home…
Spring is finally here! Those of us who live in colder climates have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring. Although it snowed here is Ohio just a few days ago, it looks like we will be seeing green grass and a few buds on the trees for Easter. In fact, my daffodils are beginning…
Rather than putting excess demands on the impaired memory of someone with dementia, help the person by compensating for cognitive changes. Find a spot in your home that is centrally located, or a spot where you often spend time. Take down wall decor, clear up the clutter and create a memory center in your home…
A person with Alzheimer’s disease or other related forms of dementia experiences changes in his or her ability to pay attention to things. Attention is the process of focusing on a specific stimulus for a particular length of time. • Selective attention is the ability to focus on a single stimulus or process at one…
Individuals with dementia have difficulty filtering out irrelevant noise from the environment and focusing on relevant sounds pertinent to their communication partner. When noise bothers people with dementia it can cause them to become agitated and restless. Background noise hinders communication because it affects the ability of people with dementia to hear and focus on…
Welcome and thank you for visiting our blog. This is our first entry. We hope that you will stop by here regularly to read our thoughts about dementia care and share your comments and ideas with us. We enjoy connecting with families, health care professionals, and people who are experiencing life with dementia. Kerry is…
