Dementia Articles & News
Recently, a friend asked me “If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?” Without hesitation I said “My Meme and Poppy.” Those are my dad’s parents. We were very close and they had great stories and were very knowledgeable about a lot of subject matters, especially life. I always […]
A few days ago, I was working from home and flipped on the TV during my “lunch break.” Dr. Oz happened to be on. I am not a big fan of Dr. Oz as he talks about “quick fixes” and “miracle diets” that I don’t agree with. He often talks about easy “cures” for Alzheimer’s […]
Planning activities for an individual with dementia doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be intimidating or overwhelming, either. In fact, activity planning (and execution) is a powerful platform for rekindling relationships, friendships, and deep connections with others. Do you ever feel overwhelmed determining how to engage with your loved one who has […]
I have been working in this field for over 10 years. Yes, it started with zero education. So, I developed 5 top mistakes along with 5 tips for interacting with persons with dementia. These are mistakes I have made or mistakes I’ve seen other made (and thankfully I learned from their mistakes QUICKLY). Keep in […]
My grandfather, Poppy, sold the first Cash Registers for the National Cash Register company and that was a HUGE step for technology. Today, cash registers are hardly used. My grandfather struggled with changes in technology but he always made an effort to use it. I remember his first e-mail was “FirorBall” (our last name is […]
When you think of dementia, how does it relate to a kaleidoscope? When you look through a kaleidoscope, the shapes are constantly changing. What one may see as beautiful, another may see as disorganized and chaotic. This is the idea that a recent production I saw at Creative Cauldron, a black box theatre in Falls […]
If it looks like dementia, and talks like dementia it might not be dementia. For most of my life, I never understood why certain specialists were in such high demand at parties. “Oh, your cousin is a dermatologist? I want to ask them about this mole.” Well, now that I am a dementia expert, friends, […]
As a Dementia Consultant, I often meet people in one of two situations: A person with dementia needs to move into Assisted Living for the first time. A person with dementia is living in Assisted Living and they’re not doing well and moving is an option on the table. The bottom line is that not […]
The end of one year and the beginning of a new year can cause different types of reactions. For some, excitement ensues for what is to come in the New Year. For others, regret of what they missed or lost in the previous year. Personally, I believe it is most important to focus on the […]
Last week we learned that an Alzheimer’s drug in Phase 3 did not progress (http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/24/health/alzheimers-drug-test-fails/) and this week we learned that early-onset Alzheimer’s might be detectable by a gene mutation (http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/the-alzheimers-laboratory/). The results of the Colombia Gene Mutation study are expected in 2021. Ever since I started in this field, research for a cure has […]