Changing Challenges of Alzheimer Care

The Changing Challenges of Alzheimer Care

How did last year’s caregiving experience go? Caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s or related memory disorder is an ongoing learning process, so if last year was a hard challenge, this year can be better.
Alzheimer caregiving is like parenting children; the parent must keep up with the child’s growth to relate well. Similarly, relating with someone with Alzheimer’s, has to be flexible because the progressive nature of the disease. Alzheimer’s has been described as human development in reverse. Children expand their learning as they grow; persons with Alzheimer’s are losing abilities as the illness progresses. The caregiver must recognize when changes occur and respond accordingly. What worked last year may not this year; adapt your behavior to the decline in ability.

Some suggestions to get you on your way:
• Observe the level of frustration he expresses when trying to do something.
• Offer to help but ask permission. “Do you need some help?” “May I help you?”
• Give only as much help as he needs to proceed with the task. Often all that he needs is a ‘jump start’ and then can figure out the rest. Don’t take over!
• Visual reminders are great ways to give him the jump start. Simply putting something in eye’s view prompts him to begin a task.
• Structure his day; thinking up something to do and organizing is hard for him. It might be time to think of a day program to offer that structure.
• Keep the person socially engaged but not overwhelmed. Doing things with others has a double benefit. It adds purpose to the day and offers socialization.
• The person with Alzheimer’s needs to feel in charge of his life, feel valued and emotionally safe. It is up to the caregiver to provide these.

Beverly’s book Matters of the Mind…and the Heart is available on line @ www.StilMee.com for an autographed copy or go to
www.strategicbookpublishing.com/MattersOfTheMindAndTheHeart.html

SSS News Radio

I've just recorded my first 5 minute spotlight on WATD 95.9 FM out of Marshfield on the Greg Porell show. On the 3rd Saturday morning show from 8-8:30 I'll talk about an aspect of Alzheimer's disease that will be informative for caregivers. Tomorrow will be the introduction. Later topics will include the challenges of Alzheimer care with a story to illustrate each challenge as outlined in my book Matters of the Mind...and the Heart. Listen to the show on Saturday morning as you lay in bed catching that extra snooze! Then I'll have to run off to my Zumba class!

Connected Living Now @ Home

We at StilMee™ Coaching have joined with My Way Village to offer in the home coaching in using a computer-based program called Connected Living Now. It is a terrific fun way to spend time with your family member with Alzheimer's or other memory disorder. Prompts in the form of pictures, utube film clips, and words evoke memories and encourage the person's sharing them with their care partner, either a family member or hired caregiver. I witnessed residents at Rogerson House in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts 'come alive' with memories of their lives and share those with a coach. The residents are more engaged, seeking out time at the computer to enjoy sharing with another. We are piloting a program for caregivers at home and hope to launch it March 1, 2010. Write me at StilMee@comcast.net and log on to www.mywayvillage.com and check it out. This program is available at home across the United States. It is very reasonably priced; affordable for everyone.
Beverly

Caregiving Tip

How much Care?
We are looking at the care of a person with Alzheimer's quite differently from that of five or ten years ago. Today we seek to establish an ongoing and rich relationship with the person, giving him as much control over his life as is safe, and building 'care partnering' based on trust and respect. We no longer 'take over' his life, speaking for him, doing for him. Instead we learn to join him; giving him back control, providing emotional safety and adding meaning to his life. This requires learning 'how to speak Alzheimers'. My book Matters of the Mind...and the Heart teaches you the basic principles of relating in a new way. You can purchase this book on Amazon.com or, for a signed copy, on www.StilMee.com. I loved writing it; enjoy reading it.

A New Year of Caregiving

In another day it will be a new decade, a new year and time to review how your caregiving is going. Are things the same as a year ago? I doubt it, if you are caring for a family member with memory loss. Diseases of memory loss like Alzheimer's are usually progressive and constantly giving the caregiver new challenges. It may be time to see whether you need to learn new skills to address the changing challenges.
In early memory loss, you learned to tolerate the repeating of information or questions. You were aware that some skills were being lost. You grieved the losses to your way of relating to your family member; perhaps learned how to assume responsibilities he or she once had.
What are your challenges now? Is it adapting to loss of speech? Is it looking at whether it is time for more help, perhaps in the area of a day program? I hope you've located, joined and consistently participate in a support group.
When caring for someone with a chronic progressive illness like Alzheimer's, you must forever be adapting your life to the disease. Keep reading caregiving books and articles. Attend seminars by the Alzheimer's Association to keep up with new trends in care. It isn't as hard with the right information. You can enjoy your family member again; only in a different way.
We've recently added a new service to our list; one of activity planning. Without planned activity to fill the day, caregiving can be very tedious. We will be sharing some of our ideas from time to time. If you have activities that have worked for you, share them with us.

StilMee's Caregiving Collaborations

I guess I'm on a roll to write. I've been giving a lot of talks on Alzheimer management at home. I'm collaborating with 3 other companies to add value to our already good coaching service so that we can cover all the treatment possibilities. Lynn Lazarus Serper, a researcher in brain health, has a Serper Method of brain education to delay the progression of memory loss in persons diagnosed with dementia. I've seen people become engaged happily in their own treatment. It is social, fun, and educational. And it works.Go to www.serpermethod.com
Nancy Emerson Lombardo, another researcher in nutrition and brain health has a great service looking at eating brain healthy foods and adding supplements to augment the benefits. Her company is HealthCareInsights. I'm taking her supplements as is my husband and feeling rested, sleeping well, and having energy in good supply. She is at Look her up at www.healthcareinsights.net
There is another company we are working with;My Way Village of Quincy. We've been involved in a pilot program to learn how to adjust the content of their very successful Connected Living Now product to be Alzheimer friendly and easy for a family caregiver to use. Its goal is to engage the person with Alzheimer's in a fail-free, fun, interactive search into the past to evoke pleasant memories and keep the person connected to family, friends and community. We at StilMee are looking forward to offering this to our caregivers to spend quality time with their family member. I'll let you know when we launch this addition to our coaching services. To learn more about this treatment, go to www.mywayvillage.com
Coach Beverly

Value of being in research studies

I met with a gentleman interested in making it easier to engage people with early stage Alzheimer's in research. It is imperative to the successful completion of a study that people are willing to be in the study. He told me something I'd never thought of before; the cost of research goes up double if the study is unable to retain subjects, and many treatments for Alzheimer's never make it to the table due to lack of study subjects. As I mentioned in another blogspot, my husband and I are in the HOPE study at BU in Boston. I will take part in other research as I am fit as a subject.
What keeps persons in early stage Alzheimer's from participating. It is probably a combination of fear, denial, and not finding the time. But it is imperative we find answers to the Alzheimer dilemma.
As one who has seen the results of not being willing to look at the fact that one has a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, I can say that the journey is much harder for all concerned. Medical and non-medical treatments are available but one won't benefit from them if no one pursues these options.