Chimney Rock, one of the most famous and recognizable landmarks for pioneer travelers on the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails. A natural geologic formation, it became a symbol of the great western migration. My Grandmother’s headstone reads, “She Loved Life”. I never got the chance to ask her why she wanted that very statement on her headstone. She died with…
My good friends and I (they happen to be 91- and 97-year-old women who do not have dementia) have agreed that we either need to learn to keep our mouths shut, or we need to invest in duct tape. Each of us are Moms of adults kids, you see, and each of us love our kids so dearly that we…
Current dementia care most often has “controlling (unpleasant) dementia behaviors” as its goal. But I would like to suggest that we can do better; that an approach of “managing the environment” is the right goal. Let me see if I can explain. When our approach is that of controlling dementia behaviors, it puts us in a position of responding to…
Prestige: n. “the respect and admiration that someone gets for being successful or important” My guess is that most folks would not say that they have earned the term “prestige”. We might think of this term attached to the notion of notoriety or fame or power. But per Merriam Webster, it is more simple than that. Every person wishes to…
Two and a half weeks ago, Bob and his wife and I went for a walk in their neighborhood. It was a lovely Colorado day with sunny skies and clear air. We walked to their neighbor’s rock, which is Bob’s favorite spot to sit and rest. We all sat and rested and chatted a bit before heading home. Bob stopped…
Colorado State Senator Joann Ginal and a purr-ito named Cheese I wish I had a way to show everyone what happens when you put a kitten, wrapped in their soft blanket “purr-ito”, into the arms of a person with dementia. You see, when we bring appropriate sensory and social stimulation into the day’s experience of someone with dementia, we give…
In the 1980’s, the United States education system transitioned from the common practice of institutionalizing children with disabilities, to “mainstreaming” It seems that the goal was “inclusion”; helping children with disabilities be included and welcomed among fellow students who did not have disabilities, and helping students without disabilities become comfortable with kids with disabilities. I suppose that the idea was…
I am very grateful for the valuable life lessons shared with me in my young years. These childhood lessons that form character have a powerful impact, and build a foundation in our lives. Young hearts and minds are the perfect training ground to learn about generosity, respect for others, responsibility, honesty, compassion, the importance of good work and good play,…
I don’t have dementia. But I have the privilege of spending a lot of time with people who do. And if they had the ability to articulate their thoughts and feelings, my observation is they would tell us this: “Expect me to forget. In other words, please don’t react with disappointment or frustration or worry when I forget that I…
Here’s a quick list of ideas to make the dementia journey easier, to give care partners more tools at their disposal to make it through the process. Follow “thedawnmethod” on Instagram. Every day, there are a couple of posts that give very helpful tidbits of information to bring light to the dementia journey. If you are new on the dementia…
