I often meet people who tell me about their loved one’s “behaviors” and ask how to “fix them.” My first question is this: Is that behavior worth worrying about? Let’s take a few examples and decide which ones we should be worried about finding solutions for. They’ve begun to urinate in the house plants, thinkingContinue reading “Is that “behavior” worth worrying about?”
Tag Archives: dementia care
Improv comedy and dementia care workshop now online
Our workshop is officially ONLINE which means you can take it from wherever (and whenever) you want! This is a cool opportunity for you to see how improvisational comedy works with dementia caregiving, especially if you can’t make it to Pittsburgh, PA for our workshops. We travel, so we’re happy to come to you, butContinue reading “Improv comedy and dementia care workshop now online”
What if I visit and he doesn’t know who I am?
Care partners regularly ask me about one of their deepest fears. The fear usually goes like this: at some point, you’ll walk in to visit your loved one, and that person will look at you with a blank stare. “Who are you?” they’ll ask you, as your own eyes fill with tears. Here’s the good news: this fearContinue reading “What if I visit and he doesn’t know who I am?”
22 Questions to ask about assisted living
I am often asked, “What questions do I need to ask before moving my loved one into an assisted living community?” Here is a pretty comprehensive list, but bear in mind, you are going to want to find most of these out through observation! Don’t show up and fire a million questions at the marketing director.Continue reading “22 Questions to ask about assisted living”
Assisted Living is NOT your enemy
“We want to keep her out of assisted living as long as possible.” “My brother thinks it’s horrible that we want to move dad.” “I’m exhausted caring for my loved one at home, but moving them just seems cruel.” “She took care of me when I was younger, so now it’s my turn.” “I don’tContinue reading “Assisted Living is NOT your enemy”
At home, in adult day care, in assisted living…how do you know if it’s a good fit?
How can you tell if where your loved one with dementia is currently living is…well, working? How do you know if it’s the right fit? It’s pretty difficult to ask someone living with dementia what their opinion is on the subject. Even if you were to move them, would that make them happier? Would itContinue reading “At home, in adult day care, in assisted living…how do you know if it’s a good fit?”
How one woman got her husband to agree to attend adult day care
She knew that she’d have a hard time getting her husband, Ben, into adult day care. Ben loved working, and now that he was retired and had dementia, he still liked to find projects to do. Convincing him that he could benefit from adult day care certainly wasn’t going to work (and doing this withContinue reading “How one woman got her husband to agree to attend adult day care”
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Let’s break it down with a quick sketch! Source: dementiabyday.com
3 things you can do to cope with repetitive questions
“Where am I?” Nathan asked. “Where’s my room?” We’d showed Nathan his room about 15 times that day, and it was getting exhausting. I was new to dementia care, and wanted to “solve” this “behavioral issue” with some creativity. Here was the issue, though: you can’t stop repetitive questions. You can, perhaps, distract the person forContinue reading “3 things you can do to cope with repetitive questions”