Instead of the fear, stigma and shame many associate with the phenomenon of dementia, reveal the resilience, human connection and wellbeing that is available to us all.
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.”
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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.
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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.
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Using real life stories, Geert Bettinger’s new book Moving on by Standing Still: A Different View of ‘Problem Behavior’, demonstrates how damaging it is when care professionals assume they know what’s best for people living with intellectual or cognitive disabilities, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Throwing the gauntlet at mainstream care practices, Bettinger describes compelling examples […]
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Imagine a dementia-inclusive community; a place where each person’s uniqueness is valued, deep relationships flourish and differences are embraced. Imagine a dementia-inclusive community where each person’s perceptions and experience of the world, while often different than our own, are taken into account and honored.
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A historical review of major warning signs for the current crisis over the past 20 years (1997-2018) including, among others, findings from government investigations and large-scale research studies as well as opinions of leading national experts. The lack of basic protections for vulnerable and frail residents – many of whom living with dementia – in this rapidly growing but registration-only assisted living industry in Minnesota places these individuals at risk of abuse, neglect, avoidable accidents, financial exploitation, and other forms of harm.
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In her December 2017 post, “Stealing Hope,” Anne D. Basting passionately challenges the fear and stigma-inducing “tragedy narrative” that distorts how people living with dementia are seen within the broader culture. The two of us were especially inspired by Anne’s closing words, “Family members and friends…can learn to shift toward creativity to find emotional connection, to […]
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The full text of Eilon Caspi’s recent journal article “Trust at stake: Is the “dual mission” of the U.S. Alzheimer’s Association out of balance?” is now available for free thanks to an anonymous donor seeking to raise awareness of the gross imbalance of effort and funding between the Association’s dual mission of seeking cure and best care.
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