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Previously, we shared some tips for making holiday meals less stressful for dementia caregivers and the ones they care for. As mentioned, the holidays can create a myriad of issues on their own, but add those to the responsibilities of care-giving and it can easily be to much.  Throughout this holiday season, we will continue to provide helpful tips and suggestions

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There is no denying that America is gearing up for the holiday season.  Retailers and ad agencies bide their time until Halloween is over, to really start the barrage of holiday marketing.  It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering that in this day, with 2 working parents and kids with schedules that rival that of a CEO, families need time

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The American Family; how it has changed over the last couple of decades.  Most of us remember the days when we all sat down to dinner as a family and shared our experiences of the day. Afterward, we would all gather, together, in front of the television and watch whatever the few networks were showing.  Before television, it was radio

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Baseball, apple pie and mom…oh, and cars! These are quintessential symbols of America and our culture. Cars, especially, represent the American spirit on several levels, including ingenuity, invention, hard work and, of course, freedom. The vast majority of us own automobiles and if not, at the least, have a license to operate one. The auto industry is a large part

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In the last two entries, we discussed long-distance caregiving and in-home caregiving, respectively. First we covered the steps to take when caring for a loved one in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s from long-distance. Secondly we included deciding if/when you should move the loved one into your home for more constant care. Odds are; there will come a time when

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Older adults have long been the target of fraud and scams. There are several reasons for this but the most common is impaired judgment and loss of cognitive ability. The onset of Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia may make your loved one a target for scammers and con artists. The Prevalence of Modern Scams Let’s face it, we have

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As a longtime professional caregiver to people with dementia, I learned many years ago, from a dear friend at the Alzheimer’s Association, three very simple but powerful words; Live Their Reality. Research and experience has taught us that the mind of a person with Alzheimer’s tends to regress over time as the disease progresses.  Unlike the approach for certain psychiatric

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You may have heard the familiar phrase, “ If you know one person with Alzheimer’s, you know one person with Alzheimer’s.”  As a longtime caregiver to people with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, I have had the opportunity to encounter so many different scenarios and learn from them.  Some have been very pleasant, while others have been something less

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The recent news of Robin William’s autopsy results has shown that he might have had Lewy Body dementia in addition to the diagnosis of Parkison’s disease.  Though not as prevalent as Alzheimer’s, dementia with Lewy Bodies is the third most common form of dementia.   As the news reports have highlighted, confusion and hallucinations are both symptoms of this form

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I am writing to express concern for those living with Alzheimer’s disease as well as those people caring for them.  We need help stopping this epidemic that is threatening to bankrupt our country.  According to the 2014 release of Facts and Figures from the Alzheimer’s Association, there are currently 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s. In Illinois alone the number of

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