ALZHEIMER’S:   PROVIDING A DIGNIFIED LIFE

Dementia with Dignity offers a series of interactive programs for family members, friends, and other caregivers of people with dementia.  Each program focuses on a paticular aspect of the challenges presented by the disease, but all emphasize the same central theme of  nuturing the inner spirit, therby preserving a dignified life.   The following list of topics will undoubtedly continue to expand

Is it Alzheimer’s?  Increasing forgetfulness, confusion, behavior changes……what to do when Alzheimer’s is suspected.

The Verdict Is  In, What’s Next?  The  doctor has assigned a diagnosis, “Dementia, probably of the Alzhimer’s type”  An overview of things to come.

Setting the Stage  Environmental considerations that will enhance the quality of daily living.

Home Sweet Home  Living at home for as long as possible is almost always the desired plan, but when should you start thinking about other alternatives?

To Do, or Not To Do…That is the Question   Activities that encourage creativity, self expression and stimulates the knowledge that the person with dementia is still needed, valued and loved.

A Strange New World.    Learning techniques to help honor and support the world as it is perceived by the person with dementia.

Forget the Word ‘Remember’    “Remember when…..?”   the words just slip out, automatically.  But chances are the person with dementia may not remember.  Learn new approaches and techniques to use when talking with a person with dementia that will put them at ease and create an more favorable environment for conversation at whatever level the person may be in the progression of the disease.

The Visit:  What Can You Do?  Meeting the challenge of what to do and what to say during visits.

Nearing the End of the Long Road…When Words No Longer Come.    Options to utilize as the progression evolves and verbal communication begins to fade.

It Makes Scents.   Successful communication through aromatherapy and other senses.

Getting to Know You.  Helping professional caregivers getting to know  the person as they were before dementia.

“I Wanna Be Loved by You”.   Sexual behaviors, new and unexpected.