The Dementia Caregiver's Toolbox

Dementia Doing or Dementia Being?

After a great week of speaking in the Southwest, I was lucky to spend a few days in beautiful Utah.  In talking to a trail guide who recently retired to Utah and asking him why picked Utah, he said, "I wanted to go from a human doing to a human being".  This started me thinking about how true that statement is for persons with dementia.

Dementia Techniques For Caregivers: Reality versus Validation

There is a battle that sometimes rages about whether or not a professional or family caregiver tells a person with middle stages of dementia the truth about a situation or should they skirt around the moment or even tell a falsehood to soothe or comfort the person.

Transition Tips For Dementia Caregivers

I just received an email from a nursing home administrator who asks the question, "How should we or should we tell a person that they will be going onto a dementia unit?"

It got me thinking about a few tips that DO make the transition from home to an assisted living or long term care facility a little easier for both the dementia caregiver and the person with dementia.

Dementia Caregivers Discover Interactive Art

Interactive artwork  is  a terrific intervention  that dementia caregivers  can use  at home or in  a  facility setting.  The  principle  behind  this  specialized artwork  is  simple;  it  is  art, usually  hung on  the wall that involves the  spectator in some way.

Creating Dementia-Friendly Outdoor Spaces

Pause for a second and think of the time you spent outdoors today.  Were you on your way to work or school?  Did you stop outside to water your flowers?  Maybe you had a quilt outside airing out or took the dog for a walk?

For most of us, we pass through an outdoor space of one type or another in the course of our day.  Planning and providing appropriate outdoor spaces for our dementia clients that are safe yet meaningful can be a great planning experience.

How Dementia Caregivers Deal With Repetitive Questions- Part III

I heard about a newly designed, high-tech way to help persons with dementia cope with ongoing needs, such as seeking information (repetitive questions) or just daily functioning called Mind Scout.

Although not available yet and certainly quite expensive, Mind Scout

How Dementia Caregivers Deal With Repetitive Questions- Part II

We know that the slow damage to various parts of the brain can cause problems with reliable communication between the dementia caregiver and the person with dementia. 

To add to that scenario, the person with dementia may have short term memory coupled with a need they want to express and they appear to be asking the same things over and over.  So how do we cope?

How Dementia Caregivers Deal With Repetitive Questions- Part I

Persons with dementia who ask caregivers questions over and over again ranks as one of the many frustrations of dementia caregiving.

So how do we solve this issue?  Sadly, there is no magical solution; rather education on how the dementia/caregiver communication process may help a bit.

Dementia Assessments: Why The Global Deterioration Scale Is Important

Dementia caregivers are constantly searching for information to make the caregiving process less complicated.  Learning about a standard rating tool called "The Global Deterioration Scale" may help.