Dementia, Alzheimer’s, senility, forgetfulness. All of these words point to an experience. But do they point to the same one? Are they different? Are they the same? I often hear these words thrown around interchangeably. Here I hope to give some etymological clarity. Aging in America is confusing. By using clear language, I hope we can communicate […]
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We know what the experience of Alzheimer’s looks like from the outside and its correlation with age is undeniable. We do not know the exact culprit, or combination of culprits, of these experiences; therefore, classing it as a disease to be eradicated is to put the proverbial cart before the horse.
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Residents are well known at Carol Woods Retirement Community. But there is a difference between being well known and being celebrated. Residents, employee and family care partners of the Building 6 and 7 assisted living neighborhood at Carol Woods are striving toward the latter. Kay, a resident, explains: We want to be, not a family, […]
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All of these can be perceived as ‘deficits’ but they can also be perceived as changes. Using this viewpoint, there is room for the difficulty associated with these changes to be challenging, yet fruitful. Deficits call to be fixed. Changes call to be embraced and understood.
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There are two common operational practices that make it difficult for organizations to visualize a pathway to unlocking doors (and many other activities as well): all-or-none thinking and surplus safety. I explore each of these in the conclusion to my series “Hidden Restraints.”
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Recently, I posted a provocative argument for considering locked doors as physical restraints. I have received many comments about the post; and as promised, I am following up with a second installment (of three), in which I will give some guidelines for those who wish to take up the challenge.
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New research validates what we already know — the use of antipsychotic medications to reduce behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) is not very effective and what we should be doing instead is focusing on meeting the unmet needs of the person living with dementia through person centered approaches.
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The Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod is a non-profit organization designed to be age- and dementia-friendly, which means that the programs are organized in a way that enables individuals of all ages and disease states to participate in the program.
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