Care for Caregivers

It was Thomas Jefferson that said, “slavery is like having a wolf by the ears; you don’t like it much but you don’t dare let go.” Experience has taught me that there are many of you out there that feel the same way about care giving. There are over 40 million unpaid caregivers in this country and as I have […]

Every year, the Alzheimer’s Association releases a report on the impact of Alzheimer’s dementia in this country. As you would expect, the information it contains is compelling . As I work regularly with formal and informal caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s and other dementia, I was drawn to the section of the report that deals with them specifically. Although I […]

Like the subjects covered on a t.v. or radio talk show, many of the topics I write about in these articles are issue driven. This installment is no exception as the recent stories of local elderly drivers going the wrong way on entry ramps to the Interstate suggested it was time to revisit the topic of giving up the car […]

Through the graciousness of my local book store I was recently invited, along with one other author, to do a talk about my book at the local library. We were allowed to take questions and I was asked by one of the attendees if I thought she was on the “road to dementia.” Apparently she was having those occasional and […]

I make it a point to subscribe to online reports and newsletters and to check the Alzheimer’s Association’s site, alz.org, to stay on top of what’s happening in all aspects of this field of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. As many know, the culprits that are doing the most damage to your brain, if you have Alzheimer’s disease, are “plaques” that […]

It’s a Saturday morning and my wife and I are out doing our usual run of errands. We’re checking out of one of the better known big box stores when suddenly everyone hears a gentleman yelling at the top of his lungs, “Call 911!, Call 911!”  This certainly caught my attention and I immediately went outside to see what had […]

In past installments, we’ve covered the topic of behaviors but haven’t focused on specific behaviors. That is our mission today because a number of you have reached out to me to learn more. Always remember that Alzheimer’s and other dementias can affect the following skills and abilities: memory, vision, language, movement, doing tasks with multiple steps, control of emotions, and […]

I was watching television one evening when I came upon a movie called “The Accountant.” It starred  Ben Affleck as a high functioning autistic man that has a number of special gifts including a bit of a dark side to say the least. You first meet his character as a young boy and learn very quickly his father is not […]

Dementia is a symptom not a diagnosis. With that said, I’ll remind you that Alzheimer’s is dementia but dementia is not always Alzheimer’s. When giving my talks throughout New England, I’m often asked by an attendee if they can expect to develop dementia because one of their relatives was diagnosed. I’m afraid I don’t have that answer but I can […]

Informal caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias often bring up the challenges they have trying to communicate with their loved ones. Most don’t understand that many suffer from expressive aphasia which means they simply can’t find the words they’re looking for when trying to converse. What makes matters worse is that they may also suffer from receptive aphasia […]