When Anticipation Is Not A Gift

For those of us with healthy brains, it is fun to anticipate having time with those we love.  It is exciting to plan and organize and prepare for an upcoming vacation.  Sometimes the excitement of anticipation ends up being every bit as thrilling as the actual event itself. We watch the world narrow for our loved ones with dementia, and…

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What Is Strength-Based Dementia Care?

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…

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Caregiver vs. DAWN Dementia Specialist Companion – Why The Difference Matters

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…

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When People Die

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…

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Getting Paid to Have Fun

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…

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Like Learning a New Language

Two people have told me recently, “learning to get it right with dementia is like learning a new language.” If you have ever traveled to another country where the people speak a different language and you do not speak that language, you know the uneasy feeling and clumsy struggle of navigating your way. So it is with dementia until we…

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