Advice and Insight into Alzheimer's Disease

“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” --Aristotle.....

Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room
Editor

The Metamorphosis of This Alzheimer's Caregiver (Part One)
The more I learned the more I wanted to know. I learned a great deal about Alzheimer's disease--including the science. It helped me understand a very mystifying disease. It helped me to put a frame around something that is difficult if not impossible to describe.

The Metamorphosis of This Alzheimer's Caregiver (Part Two)
It is difficult to describe the range of emotions a caregiver might feel or experience in a single day. Imagine being happy and then sad, caring then angry, focused then frustrated -- an almost endless stream of feelings and emotions that conflict.....

The Metamorphosis of This Alzheimer's Caregiver -- I Wish
Once I entered Alzheimer's world I did learn something fascinating -- my mother is full of feelings and emotion. I learned that I could connect with her....

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Communication in Alzheimer's World
Let's face it, dealing with Alzheimer's is not easy. Understanding Alzheimer's disease is not easy. Some people can't do it...not ever...

Alzheimer's Caregiver Lament -- I can't take her out because she eats with her hands
The positive effects of socialization, initiative, and motivation on the part of Alzheimer's sufferers and their caregiver should not be overlooked. I believe these are as important as the medication......

How We Beat Alzheimer's Incontinence -- A Solution
We are on a three day roll. No pee pee. No pee pee pajamas. No pee pee underwear. No pee pee pants...

Alzheimer's Caregiver Lament -- This is Not the Person I Knew
In order to communicate effectively with a person suffering from Alzheimer's disease you need to come to an understanding that they are now living in a new world -- I often refer to this as Alzheimer's world...

Which Drugs Increase the Risk of Falling for the Elderly
Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for adults sixty-five and older...

I promised not to put my parents in a nursing home
The decision to keep a parent home or place them in a facility is never an easy choice, and is usually contemplated for a long time. The horror stories we’ve all heard about nursing homes can make anyone cringe.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Sometimes while looking at all those stars I begin to look at the space between the stars -- I call this the Blue Nowhere...When I look at the Blue Nowhere, I begin to imagine all the persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The Blue Nowhere is very vast.

Caring for Our Parents (Book Review)

This is a serious book by an accomplished journalist, writer--Howard Gleckman.

'If you are a Boomer, you should buy this book and put it on the coffee table. You will need it in the future to take care of yourself. The notes section of this book, alone, is worth the purchase price. The 22 pages of notes come in the form of a bibliography that you will be referring to over and over in the years ahead.

Caring for Our Parents is chock full of information and example that you, and I, will need as we age'. --Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Caring for Our Parents: Inspiring Stories of Families Seeking New Solutions to America's Most Urgent Health Crisis

To continue reading go here.

The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with Alzheimer's Type Dementia

You might get the impression from the title that this book is only for professionals; this is not the case. The validation theory works and it is simple to apply. The case studies are invaluable and provide you with specific situations that you are sure to encounter. I am convinced everyone involved with elderly parents suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's will benefit greatly from this book.

I give The Validation Breakthrough five stars and put it on my must read list. You will certainly reduce stress by learning these techniques.





The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with Alzheimer's Type Dementia

Please take a moment to read the reviews on the next page.

Buyer Reviews

By Martine Davis

If you live with or care for someone with Alzheimer's or other age related dementia, you must read this book ! What an eye-opener! For the first time I finally understood why Alzheimer's patient say what they say and do what they do. It all makes so much sense now. This small book reads quickly and is full of examples of real people who have been helped with the author's techniques. It shows you how to handle the blaming, accusing, name-calling and the repetitive motions ... It also explains why the way most of us react to Alzheimer's patients actions actually worsens the situation and can cause them to progress to a more advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease ! This book could extend the relationship between the patient and caregivers and should be MANDATORY reading for all staff working in nursing homes and long-term care facilities !

By J. Summers, CNA (Alaska)

An excellent book for both the professional caregiver and families trying to deal with this sometimes unfathomable disease. Gives practical ideas and techniques for helping people with dementia deal with issues from paranoia and blaming to sadness and helplessness. I have just begun to explore these techniques and am finding they work so well that they should be mandatory training for nurses, PCAs and CNAs. Instead of treating our seniors like they are children we at last have a way to talk to them on an adult level, tap into where they are at, deal with the problem at hand and we all come out better for the experience.


Reviewer: A reader

More and more relevant as we care for aging parents. With a title like this one might think: "Boring" Absolutely not so! Right from the start, the stories of the people are so real and so touching that one of my friends said she was moved to tears. She was so sad not to have known about this way of relating to her father. "It works," she told me. "Validation Breakthrough" shows a new way of relating to people with dementia of Alzheimer's type. This approach is effective in helping the person to clear up unresolved issues in their lives. You do not have to be a professionally trained therapist to use validation. Validation will make the relationship more rewarding for both people. It is not hard to learn and makes wonderful sense. Some readers may want to ask new questions of care facilities (like nursing homes) as the validation approach will keep loved ones from slipping into a vegetative state. It will also make the care much kinder, and more rewarding for the care givers





The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with 'Alzheimer's-Type Dementia'

The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People with Alzheimer Disease and Memory Loss in Later Life

What If It's Not Alzheimer's: A Caregiver's Guide to Dementia

The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with Alzheimer's Type Dementia

You might get the impression from the title that this book is only for professionals; this is not the case. The validation theory works and it is simple to apply. The case studies are invaluable and provide you with specific situations that you are sure to encounter. I am convinced everyone involved with elderly parents suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's will benefit greatly from this book.

I give The Validation Breakthrough five stars and put it on my must read list. You will certainly reduce stress by learning these techniques.





The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with Alzheimer's Type Dementia

Please take a moment to read the reviews on the next page.

Buyer Reviews

By Martine Davis

If you live with or care for someone with Alzheimer's or other age related dementia, you must read this book ! What an eye-opener! For the first time I finally understood why Alzheimer's patient say what they say and do what they do. It all makes so much sense now. This small book reads quickly and is full of examples of real people who have been helped with the author's techniques. It shows you how to handle the blaming, accusing, name-calling and the repetitive motions ... It also explains why the way most of us react to Alzheimer's patients actions actually worsens the situation and can cause them to progress to a more advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease ! This book could extend the relationship between the patient and caregivers and should be MANDATORY reading for all staff working in nursing homes and long-term care facilities !

By J. Summers, CNA (Alaska)

An excellent book for both the professional caregiver and families trying to deal with this sometimes unfathomable disease. Gives practical ideas and techniques for helping people with dementia deal with issues from paranoia and blaming to sadness and helplessness. I have just begun to explore these techniques and am finding they work so well that they should be mandatory training for nurses, PCAs and CNAs. Instead of treating our seniors like they are children we at last have a way to talk to them on an adult level, tap into where they are at, deal with the problem at hand and we all come out better for the experience.


Reviewer: A reader

More and more relevant as we care for aging parents. With a title like this one might think: "Boring" Absolutely not so! Right from the start, the stories of the people are so real and so touching that one of my friends said she was moved to tears. She was so sad not to have known about this way of relating to her father. "It works," she told me. "Validation Breakthrough" shows a new way of relating to people with dementia of Alzheimer's type. This approach is effective in helping the person to clear up unresolved issues in their lives. You do not have to be a professionally trained therapist to use validation. Validation will make the relationship more rewarding for both people. It is not hard to learn and makes wonderful sense. Some readers may want to ask new questions of care facilities (like nursing homes) as the validation approach will keep loved ones from slipping into a vegetative state. It will also make the care much kinder, and more rewarding for the care givers





The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with 'Alzheimer's-Type Dementia'

alzheimer's, caregiving, dementia, family, Naomi Feil, stress, Validation Therapy