When we understand that not all cognitive skills are lost with dementia, we can provide strength-based care. People with dementia retain three useful cognitive skills, their intuitive, learning by experience, and mindlessness skills. When we learn how to use them to their advantage, we can provide strength-based care. When we provide strength-based care, we are able to provide care that…
Our good friend Carol passed away this week, surrounded by friends and family. Her best friend and care partner loved her through the dementia journey, in their own home, until her last week of life when inpatient hospice was the way to help her be comfortable. Carol was a remarkable woman; an accomplished musician, a mom of six, one who…
The typical pattern for how the medical system addresses dementia these days includes a visit to the doctor, and then a referral to a neuropsychologist for a neuropsychological assessment. This neuropsychological assessment typically involves about three hours of cognitive testing for the person with suspected cognitive change. A report follows, which outlines the specific areas of cognition assessed and which…
Empathy is a cornerstone for how the Better People Care team gets it right with dementia care. Empathy-the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.Merriam-Webster Dictionary Extending empathy…
The folks we provide DAWN dementia specialist care to have lived at least six decades. Meaning they have cared for themselves, made independent decisions, and led their own lives well for a very long time. We understand, then, that rarely will they welcome the notion of “help.”In addition, most have anosognosia, where the part of the brain that gives people…
When I founded Better People Care LLC in 2018, I knew that I did not want to do the work alone. I wanted to work alongside others committed to the well-being of folks with dementia and their families.Now, I have the honor of leading a remarkable team of talented people.We are all trained in The DAWN Method approach to dementia…
A friend asked me recently, “how can you do that work when you have so many people die?”She is correct; my team and I regularly spend our workdays with folks who are living through their final season of life. And we often remain in their lives until they breathe their last. Since December 1 of 2020, four of the people…
Have you ever tried to help your loved one with dementia make sense of their finances? Ever tried to get them to see why they should stop driving? Tried to help them understand and accept why they need help in their home, with their home, and with managing their day-to-day? I spoke with a woman the other day. She is…
Getting it right with dementia is what I have the privilege of doing each day. But it is also very personal for me, and the heart behind my efforts on behalf of those living with dementia. I’ve written about my Grandmother before, in my blog titled, “She Loved Life”. In that blog, I spoke about what she meant to me,…
I was visiting with some new friends recently, most of whom have some idea of the work I do. One asked if I had worked the previous day, which happened to be a Sunday. I said, “Yes. And my friend (with dementia) and I went for three walks, and for a drive in the mountains, and out for lunch, and…
