Holidays such as Thanksgiving are a time when family and friends come together to spend time together and to share memories. However, the holiday season is also a time that can raise questions about whether aging family members are experiencing signs of Alzheimer’s disease. It’s important to know what is normal aging and what isn’t. The Alzheimer’s association emphasizes the difference between normal aging and early signs of Alzheimer’s. Read more.
‘Alzheimer’s & Dementia’ Posts
Signs of Alzheimer’s may become evident during the holidays
Monday, November 28th, 2011A Shoe for Wanderers: technology for people with Dementia
Friday, October 21st, 2011
The New York Times published an article Friday October 14th 2011 about “an ideal technology for people with dementia who wander.” The article was written by Paula Span, author of “When the Time Comes: Families With Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions.” This technology was developed by GTX Corp, Los Angeles, CA.
Please click on the following link to read the New York Times article: A Shoe for Wanderers
Alzheimer’s Behavior Management: Tips for Managing Common Symptoms and Problems
Monday, October 17th, 2011
Problem behavior is often a way the Alzheimer’s patient tries to communicate with others. As a caregiver for a loved one with dementia, it can be extremely worrying and upsetting to experience the behavior problems associated with mid-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Patients may exhibit a wide variety of behavioral problems that can threaten their own or other people’s safety, including wandering, aggressiveness, hallucinations, or sleeping and eating. Learn some tips.
Essential Checklist for Good Dementia Care
Friday, September 30th, 2011
Marguerite Manteau-Rao, LCSW, ATR, Mindful living advocate, Memory care consultant, published on the Huffington Post The Essential Checklist for Good Dementia Care. She shares the work of Jane Verity’s about the 5 universal needs to be an essential framework for good care of people with Dementia. These unmet emotional needs are:
- To be needed and useful
- To have opportunity to care
- To love and be loved
- To have self-esteem boosted
- To have the power to choose
13 Essential Tips For Dementia Caregivers
Friday, August 26th, 2011
Marguerite Manteau-Rao a LCSW and mindful living advocate, writes “…the journey of dementia is never easy, and it can be made many times worse if family members do not have the internal tools to take care of themselves and their loved ones. Here, based on years of experience in successfully navigating the dementia care landscape, are 13 tips that may save you a lot of grief as a care partner (caregiver) of someone with dementia…”
Alzheimer’s: Early detection, risk factors are crucial
Friday, July 29th, 2011
In an article for CNN, on July 25, 2011, Elizabeth Landau states “…With more than 5 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, a number that’s expected to rise to 16 million by 2050, the pressure is on to find better methods of diagnosis, treatment and prevention… The research that came out of the Alzheimer’s Association 2011 International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, which took place in Paris last week, reflects a growing emphasis on early detection. Research suggests the best targets for exploring treatments are patients who do not have full-blown Alzheimer’s disease, but experience mild symptoms. Scientists have identified biological indicators called biomarkers that seem to be associated with Alzheimer’s, although they are not perfect predictors…”
GUIDE: Managing Psychosis and Behavioral Aspects of Dementia
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011A lot has been written about dementia symptoms mimicking the symptoms of mental illness. It is important to understand the specific behavioral and mental aspects of most dementias. The American Geriatrics Association (www.americangeriatrics.org) has prepared a guide stressing the most common behavioral and mental problems and some clinical interventions.
This guide has been developed to assist healthcare providers in managing psychotic symptoms and disorders in older adults. It is based on two publications of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) the 2010 edition of The Geriatrics Review Syllabus and 2011 edition of Geriatrics At Your Fingertips.™
This guide was reviewed by a panel of AGS members representing geriatric medicine, geropsychiatry, and geriatric pharmacy. The guide was then reviewed and approved by the AGS Executive Committee in April 2011.
We encourage readers to consult the publications listed in the References Section at the end of this guide for a more in-depth discussion of the information contained here, including evidence concerning the increased incidence of mortality in the use of antipsychotic medications in the treatment of behavioral and psychotic symptoms associated with dementia.
