Yoga is a practice and science of connection. Yoga is shown to have positive effects on the mind (cognition), body (physical), and soul (emotional) that can greatly benefit all of us including people living with dementia. Mind The brain is an adaptable organ that is continually creating new pathways, or neural connections, as it encounters […]
20 Reasons Why We Need to Know the Early Life History of People Living With Dementia
1. The human right of all people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia is to be with people who know their life story including cultural habits and religious faith (Bell & Troxel, 2003). 2. Developing friendships, relationships, and trust with people with dementia is the foundation of person-directed care (Bell & […]
7 Kinds of Therapy I Don’t Want When I’m Living With Alzheimer Disease
People living with dementia are stigmatized in multiple ways, one of which is treating the activities the rest of us do for pleasure as “therapies.” My view is that we need to ditch the word therapy, and provide activities that engage, activate and enhance life as an integral part of care.
ECT for Dementia and the Dangers of the BPSD Mindset
Dementia is the greatest shame of modern medicine; not because there have been no significant advances in treatment, but because—from restraints, to locked units, to antipsychotics, to ECT—we have lost our recognition of the humanity of those living with the diagnosis.
Being Better than a Stick in the Eye
I believe the things we do to try to support people with dementia almost always come from a good place. We want to help them. Many times we do not know how. So, we do our best at that time. One might argue that something is better than nothing.
The Weirdness of Dementia (and Life)
Over the last two years, my East Side Institute colleague Dr. Susan Massad and I have had the honor of leading “The Joy of Dementia” workshops around the country. One former college professor whose diagnosis was still recent, began sharing the experiences and emotions she was going through, and ended by saying, “What can I say, it’s just weird.”
Buried (Not) Forever
Long-term care residents living with dementia labeled as “aggressive” when they engage in distressing and harmful “resident-to-resident incidents” are in reality expressing real human needs and frustrations that are not being met by understaffed, undertrained, and inadequately supervised direct care staff members.
No Control Freaks Allowed: Embracing the Complexity of Dementia Support
No matter how much we wish for simple answers, life does not work that way. In order to navigate life, we must embrace its complexity. Dementia support is no different.
