Winter Weather Tips
Keep your loved ones with dementia safe through this holiday’s winter storms. While the snow, wind, and colder temps coming this week are a major inconvenience for most of us, for individuals with dementia, they can be life-threatening. The fact that the winter storm’s arrival coincides with the holidays is creating a quandary for families […]
Broken Record Syndrome
How to gently redirect the conversation when someone has dementia “Where do you live?” “Did you eat lunch?” “How are the kids?” If your loved one has dementia, you likely hear these sorts of questions, repeated over and over in an endless loop. People with dementia commonly repeat behaviors, known as perseveration — the medical […]
Explaining Dementia to Kids
Telling children their grandmother is suffering from dementia is not only scary for the children, but also difficult for the adult delivering the message. That message must be sensitive and age appropriate, experts say, with details on what children can expect to witness and how they should respond to it. “It’s good to be honest […]
Positive Purpose
Finding connections through the fog of dementia It’s hard to watch a loved one deteriorate with dementia. It’s hard to watch them lose memories, lose their ability to communicate, lose functioning. But deep in their soul, they are still the same person they always were. It’s important to recognize those glimmers and make the best […]
4 Ways to Build Meaning for People with Dementia
Keep these tips in mind to bring out their best 1. Remember who they are When working with families, Aishling Dalton Kelly, CEO of Aishling Care Academy and Aishling Companion Home Care, first finds out what the person’s lifelong preferences have been. What’s their favorite color, music, and food? Do they love to help around the […]
Wandering & Dementia
Tips to prevent a loved one from leaving home and losing their way Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease means always being vigilant. About 60% of people with the disease will wander at least once during their diagnosis, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Wandering is dangerous for people with Alzheimer’s disease because they may leave […]
My Dad’s Dementia
Caring for my father shows the true importance of love As told to Lisa Fields Joliet resident Jennie Herrmann, 45, shares her experience taking care of her father, who had dementia. Here are her words, as told to Caregiving writer Lisa Fields. Herrmann’s father, Art Kries, passed away in April 2022, shortly after this interview, at […]
Songs for the Ages
Sandy and Jon Miller of Downers Grove are passionate about music and its power to bring people together. While running seven choirs for older adults in Chicagoland, they heard about a Twin Cities-based choir for people with dementia. After visiting the choir, the couple returned home determined to bring the same joy to Chicago. Two […]
Romance Outside a Relationship
Seeking intimacy with others when a spouse or partner has dementia Lino Darchun began “practice dating” two years after his wife, Sydnee, was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. “I would ask a woman out for lunch or dinner just to have the experience of sitting with a woman and talking intelligently,” says Darchun, who lived […]
Dementia and Nutrition
9 tips to keep your loved one eating well with dementia When you think about side effects of dementia, eating probably isn’t one of the first issues to come to mind. But for a disease that impacts every area of a person’s life, mealtime definitely takes a hit. Over time, dementia may cause changes in […]