If your loved isn’t eating as well as they used to or as well as they should there are some very good reasons why. Many with Alzheimer’s have difficulty eating and the reasons can be simple and then maybe not. Do they have a dental problem they aren’t able to articulate? Do they recognize what’s on the plate? Try to […]

I was reading some dementia care guidelines provided by The Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry at John Hopkins and I thought I’d share some of it with you. Hi this is Bob Elmer with todays Memory Care minute. The most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s are sometimes called the 4 “A’s” and they’re words you should understand. First is Amnesia-This […]

A new year is a time for renewal. It’s the time when we look back at the old year behind us and the new year ahead of us and reflect.  Was last year everything it should have been? What can I do to make this new year better? One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was “don’t […]

I’m not a betting man but I’ll place a wager on the fact that many of you that read todays installment will find yourselves saying “I didn’t know that.” The reason is todays topic is “Men as Caregivers.” There’s no bias here because the facts speak for themselves so let’s begin with our first factoid and that’s that 45% of […]

Sundowning is when behavior problems with your loved one begin at dusk.  About 40 % of those with Alzheimer’s will “sundown” and many caregivers want to know why. Well it’s no secret that the those with Alzheimer’s are much better in the morning so maybe your charge is just tired, perhaps their body clock is out of sync or maybe […]

My Aunt Gail was an amazing person in so many ways. She served with the Red Cross in Europe during WWII,  she was an accomplished business woman, world traveler and a superb amateur golfer that won the National Championship of Cuba in 1951. Christmas time was always special at our house because it meant we’d get to see Aunt Gail. […]

If any of you have heard me give my lecture on “Understanding Alzheimer’s” you’ve heard me refer to it as the “snowflake” of illnesses because no two individuals with Alzheimer’s are the same. If you know someone with Alzheimer’s then you know one person with Alzheimer’s and you need to understand that you can’t “paint them all with the same […]

  It never fails. Every time I give one of my talks to groups about “Understanding Alzheimer’s” the subject of driving comes up. “I’m worried about his driving the car.” “How do I stop her from driving the car?” Occasionally you’ll hear of a senior that willingly surrendered the car keys, much to the relief of the family and probably […]

Join the Journey Care for Caregivers Robert E.P. Elmer III, Senior Care Advisor-Master Trainer I received an email from a reader the other day asking me to talk more about the technique of “therapeutic fibbing.” Trust me, this is a very valuable tool in dealing with those with Alzheimer’s and other memory disorders. Before I go any further, I realize […]

One of the biggest challenges that many families have is dealing with the loved that should surrender the car or at least the keys.  It’s not easy when the son or daughter has to take on the responsibility of being the parent to their parent and to be perfectly honest with you many simply won’t do it, especially when it […]