This simple, easy to read, 100 page guidebook helps family members, friends, and caregivers to better understand the changes that come with advancing dementia or other impairments in thinking, reasoning or processing information. It also reinforces the impact of Teepa Snow's guidance and person-centered care interventions including the GEMS and Positive Approach to Care techniques. The goal is to provide better support and care practices when someone is living with an ever-changing condition. By appreciating what has changed but leveraging what is still possible, care partners can choose interactions that are more positive, communication that is more productive, and care that is more effective and less challenging for all involved.
ESSENTIAL STRATEGIES FOR THE DEMENTIA CAREGIVER offers a fresh and practical approach to the challenges faced by wives, husbands, and adult children who care for loved ones with dementia. Using the 4 D's of Dementia Care - detach, document, diffuse, distract - caregivers can find solutions for behaviors ranging from shadowing to wandering to medication refusal. The PACE model emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the caregiver's well-being while navigating the dementia journey: P = Permission for Trial and Error, A = Acknowledge Their Reality, C = Compassionate Care, E = Empower Yourself.
Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.
The Common Sense Guide to Dementia for Clinicians and Caregivers provides an easy-to-read, practical, and thoughtful approach to dementia care. Written by two specialists who have cared for thousands of patients with dementia and their families, this ground-breaking title unifies the perspectives of neurology and psychiatry to meet a variety of caregiver needs. It spotlights many real-world concerns not typically covered in standard textbooks, while simultaneously presenting a more detailed medical perspective than typical caregiver manuals. This handy title offers expert guidance for the clinical management of dementia and compassionate support of patients and families. Designed to enhance the physician-caregiver interaction and liberally illustrated with case examples, The Common Sense Guide espouses general principles of dementia care that apply across the stages and spectrum of this illness, including non-Alzheimer's types of dementia, in addition to Alzheimer's disease. Clinicians, family members, and other caregivers will find this volume useful from the moment that symptoms of dementia emerge. The authors place an emphasis on caring for the caregiver as well as the patient. Essential topics include how to find the right clinician, make the most of a doctor's visit, and avert a crisis - or manage one that can't be avoided. Sometimes difficult considerations, such as driving, financial management, legal matters, long-term placement, and end-of-life care, are faced head-on. Tried, true, and time-saving tips are explained in terms of what works - and what doesn't - with regard to clinical evaluation, medications, behavioral measures, and alternate therapies. Medical, nursing, and allied health care professionals will undoubtedly turn to this unique overview as a vital resource and mainstay of clinical dementia care, as well as a valuable recommendation for family caregivers.
Dementia is one of the greatest challenges facing seniors and their caregivers around the globe. Developed by experts in both research and practice, this guide for mental health clinicians explores the experience of caregiving in dementia, discussing the latest research developments and sharing clinical pearls of wisdom that can easily be translated to daily practice. The contributors explore the history of caregiving and then examine the current demographics of caregivers for persons with dementia. They discuss who provides care, the settings in which it is delivered, and the rewards and burdens of caregiving. They place special emphasis on understanding the psychological needs of both the person with dementia and the caregiver, as well as interpersonal bonds, spiritual dimensions, and reactions to grief and loss. Using a multidisciplinary approach to treatment for caregivers, this book addresses the role of pharmacotherapy, individual and family interventions, and social supports. Finally, the authors reflect on societal issues such as health care policies, ethnic elders, and ethics. This volume offers health professionals insights into the daily lives of caregivers, along with tools to provide their patients with the support they need.
The target audience is women between the ages of 42 and 65. They represent the majority of unpaid care givers for loved ones with dementia. Dementia Home Care: How to Prepare Before, During and After will examine taking on the role of care giver and help them make informed decisions about in-home care giving. It will give examples of how to create a safe living space, how to use distraction techniques, and suggest available resources for the care giver. It will emphasize the role of care giver respite and participating in dementia community support to relieve the daily stress of dementia care. Home care giver, Tracy Cram Perkins, will use anecdotes drawn from twelve years of experience. Demetia Home Care will cover aggressive behavior, coping strategies, memory aids, communication aids, and support services. There is a space at the end of each chapter for the reader to record special or humorous moments with their loved ones. And it will address the empty nester experience after the loss of a loved one—to a nursing facility or to death—rarely covered in other books of this genre. This life-lesson of care giving is not meant to destroy us but meant to remind us to take care of ourselves, forgive ourselves, accept ourselves. To know other people trudge up this same hill with us every day. To pay forward kindness in some measure. To know laughter has not abandoned us. At the end, to know some measure of joy. -- Tracy Cram Perkins
If you are facing the unique challenges of caring for a parent with dementia, you are not alone. What do you do when your loved one so plainly needs assistance, but is confused, angry, or resistant to your help? Where can you find the vital information you need, when you need it? Journalist Thomas Harrison and leading geriatric psychiatrist Brent Forester show that you don’t have to be a medical expert to be a good care provider in this authoritative guide. They explain the basics of dementia and offer effective strategies for coping with the medical, emotional, and financial toll. With the right skills, you can navigate changing family roles, communicate better with your parent, keep him or her safe, and manage difficult behaviors. Learn how to "care smarter, not harder"--and help your loved one maintain the best possible quality of life. Winner (Second Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Consumer Health Category Winner (Third Place)--Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award, Family & Relationships Category
The guide tells you how to: Understand how AD changes a person Learn how to cope with these changes Help family and friends understand AD Plan for the future Make your home safe for the person with AD Manage everyday activities like eating, bathing, dressing, and grooming Take care of yourself Get help with caregiving Find out about helpful resources, such as websites, support groups, government agencies, and adult day care programs Choose a full-time care facility for the person with AD if needed Learn about common behavior and medical problems of people with AD and some medicines that may help Cope with late-stage AD
This collection provides a comprehensive analysis of intervention approaches to dementia caregiving. It reviews the existing knowledge and provides a conceptual framework for organizing caregiver interventions of all types. Of special interest is the design of an intervention study for a culturally diverse community. The volume concludes with a discussion of how to translate intervention research into public policy, with an assessment of the future of caregiving and caregiving intervention research.
