Dementia Careblazers

Most dementia caregivers already know the one thing that could make a difference. They've heard it over and over again. But knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things.

In this episode, I share a story from a recent talk where a caregiver told me she'd tried everything to get her husband to stop driving. What happened once we started talking it through is something I want every caregiver to hear, especially when you're feeling stuck or overwhelmed.

I'll also explain how the thought "I've tried everything" can keep us from seeing other possibilities, and share a few small ways you can start making room for yourself, even when your time and energy are limited.

If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here.

My new book, The Dementia Care Toolkit, shares my essential strategies for challenging dementia behaviors and caregiving overwhelm, including how to adapt those strategies to your own situation when generic advice doesn't work. When you preorder, you'll also get a free 200+ page workbook to help you track what works and become your own best resource.

➡️ Preorder The Dementia Care Toolkit: https://careblazers.com/toolkit

→ Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc

⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 - The advice caregivers already know 0:42 - When the usual dementia driving advice doesn't work 2:31 - Why "I've tried everything" can keep you stuck 3:38 - The one thing caregivers keep putting off 5:41 - Why generic dementia advice doesn't always work

#dementia #dementiacaregiver #caregiverselfcare #dementiacare

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for medical guidance.

Helping someone with dementia stay engaged and independent can be challenging, especially when the activities you've tried don't seem to work. But sometimes, small changes in how we set up activities or organize the home can make a meaningful difference.

In this episode, I'm joined by Ju Tu, founder of Aegeliss, who turned her family's dementia caregiving experience into thoughtfully designed products that help people with cognitive impairment continue doing more for themselves.

➡️ Shop Aegeliss: https://www.aegeliss.com/nataliedmonds Use code Lovecareblazers for 10% off your first three orders.

We talk about why familiar activities like puzzles or folding towels don't always work the way they're usually set up, how visual cues and labels can make everyday tasks easier, and how Montessori-inspired approaches can help people with dementia maintain a sense of independence and purpose.

You'll also learn simple things you can try at home, even without buying anything, to make activities more accessible and give your loved one more opportunities to participate on their own terms.

If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here.

📙 Preorder The Dementia Care Toolkit: https://careblazers.com/toolkit

→ Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc

⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 - Intro 0:58 - Ju's story of caring for her grandparents 1:56 - What Montessori means in dementia care 3:29 - How losing independence can show up as behaviors 7:01 - Room signs and labels that make home easier 10:14 - Why traditional puzzles can be frustrating in dementia 14:44 - Simple Montessori activities you can try at home 18:12 - Where to place signs so they get noticed 25:20 - The email that keeps Ju going

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for medical guidance.

When your loved one with dementia seems fine to everyone else, it can leave you feeling like no one believes what you're living with. A sibling says, "Dad seemed great today." A doctor says, "They're doing so well." And you're left wondering if they think you're exaggerating.

In this episode, I'm sharing what I told a caregiver who came up to me after a talk with this exact frustration, and what helped me when my own siblings said these things about my dad. I'll walk you through two ways to handle these comments so they don't upset you as much, and explain why someone with dementia can seem perfectly fine during short visits and appointments.

If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here.

📘 My new book, The Dementia Care Toolkit, is available for preorder. It includes an entire section devoted to you, the caregiver, and how to handle the frustration, emotions, and grief that can come with dementia care.

➡️ Preorder The Dementia Care Toolkit: https://careblazers.com/toolkit

⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 - Intro 0:28 - When family says "Dad seems fine" 2:00 - Option 1: Sharing how their comments affect you 3:45 - Option 2: Changing how you think about their comments 6:40 - Why dementia can look so different to others

→ Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for medical guidance.

When someone with dementia insists they're still safe to drive, describes a visit that never happened, or swears someone is stealing from them, it can look a lot like lying. Or like they're refusing to see what's right in front of them.

But a lie means knowing the truth and choosing to say something different, and that's not what's happening here. In this episode, I'm walking through three common dementia symptoms that can look like lying from the outside: anosognosia, confabulation, and delusions. I'll explain what's going on in the brain with each one, how to tell them apart, and the one response that tends to make all three harder.

If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here.

If you're left thinking, "Okay, but what do I actually do when this is happening?", my book, The Dementia Care Toolkit, is filled with strategies you can try in situations just like this.

It's available for preorder here: ➡️ https://careblazers.com/toolkit

→ Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc

⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 - Intro

1:21 - Anosognosia: when they don't know anything is wrong

3:12 - Confabulation: when the brain fills in a memory gap

4:59 - Delusions: false beliefs that keep coming back

6:01 - What to ask yourself instead of "why are they lying?"

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for medical guidance.

Sometimes the strangest dementia behaviors have a pattern or explanation that isn't obvious at first.

Maybe your loved one seems fine earlier in the day but becomes restless every evening. Maybe they follow you everywhere, hide or collect unusual things, believe they're living in a different time of their life, or suddenly seem perfectly fine when the doctor walks into the room.

After the first strange behaviors episode, so many of you told me your loved one does these things too, or that the explanation finally helped it make sense. So in this episode, I'm breaking down 5 MORE: sundowning, shadowing, hiding and hoarding, time shifting, and show timing.

For each one, I explain what may be happening underneath the behavior and what you can try when it happens.

If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here.

Because once you see what the brain may be trying to do, a lot of these behaviors start to make sense.

And if you want more ideas for what to do when these moments happen, I have two resources that can help:

→ Preorder the Dementia Care Toolkit Here: https://careblazers.com/toolkit

→ Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc

⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 - Intro

1:39 - #1 Sundowning

6:22 - #2 Shadowing

9:01 - #3 Hiding, hoarding and collecting

13:06 - #4 Time shifting

15:11 - #5 Show timing

18:42 - How all 5 behaviors connect

20:03 - Where to get help with what to try

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for medical guidance.

➡️ Learn more about Memory Board: https://www.memoryboard.com/DEMENTIA24702 When you visit through this link, look for the pop-up with a Careblazers promo code.

Paid link: Dementia Careblazers may earn a referral fee from purchases made through this link and promo code.

Helping someone with dementia keep track of what's happening throughout the day can mean a lot of reminders, phone calls, notes, and repeated updates.

In this episode, I'm talking with Tyler Zannini, founder of Memory Board, about a simple tool families are using to share schedules, reminders, messages, photos, and other updates with a loved one with dementia.

We talk about how Memory Board came to be, how families are using it in real life, who it may be helpful for, how it works as dementia progresses, and some practical ways caregivers can use it from a distance.

Questions for Tyler's team: [email protected]

⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 - Why Memory Board caught my attention 1:25 - How Tyler's grandmother inspired Memory Board 3:02 - What Memory Board is and how it works 4:48 - How families are using it 7:41 - Photos, visitors, and staying connected 12:04 - Can it help in later stages of dementia? 15:25 - Scheduling messages in advance 17:05 - Is there an ongoing subscription cost?

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for medical guidance.

There are a few phrases dementia caregivers say all the time that sound completely normal but can actually make dementia behaviors worse.

Things like "I already told you," "Don't you remember?" or "You just asked me that" usually come from frustration or from genuinely trying to help. But dementia changes what the brain is able to remember, process, and explain.

In this episode, I break down 4 common communication traps, why they can backfire, and what you can do instead. I also get into why the best response for your loved one might be completely different from the best response for someone else, and that is okay.

Dementia caregiving isn't about finding one perfect response. It's about learning what works for your loved one with dementia and adjusting as their brain changes.

If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here.

📘 Looking for more practical strategies? My book, The Dementia Care Toolkit: Real Help for Challenging Behaviors and Caregiving Overwhelm, is available for preorder here:

https://careblazers.com/toolkit

→ Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc

⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 - The repeated question that wears you down

2:14 - "I already told you" and the reminding trap

3:57 - "Don't you remember?" and highlighting their deficits

5:38 - "You just asked me that" and the repetition awareness trap

6:49 - "Why did you do that?" and the explanation trap

9:40 - Becoming a dementia detective when a behavior makes no sense

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for

Some of the habits that make dementia behaviors worse come from loving, kind caregivers doing exactly what works with everyone else in their lives. Correcting a mistake, explaining why the medication matters, or asking "do you remember who this is?" can quietly lead to more agitation, resistance, and mistrust.

In this episode, I'm walking through six of these everyday habits, why they backfire when someone has dementia, and what you can try instead. You can be completely right and still end up losing the moment. These habits take time to break, and noticing them is where it starts.

If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here.

📘 My book, The Dementia Care Toolkit: Real Help for Challenging Behaviors and Caregiving Overwhelm, is available for preorder now: https://careblazers.com/toolkit

Inside, you'll find practical strategies for difficult dementia behaviors, communication, caregiver overwhelm, guilt, grief, frustration, and more.

→ Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc

⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 - Why everyday habits can backfire with dementia

2:05 - Habit 1: Correcting

3:55 - Habit 2: Reasoning

8:45 - Habit 3: Arguing

11:40 - Habit 4: Testing their memory

13:00 - Habit 5: Talking as if they aren't there

14:55 - Habit 6: Reminding them what they can't do

17:40 - One question to ask before you respond

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for medical guidance.

Some dementia behaviors can make absolutely no sense from the outside. It can look like your loved one is being lazy, stubborn, rude, in denial, or even lying to you. But there's often a brain-based reason for what you're seeing.

In this episode, I break down 5 strange dementia behaviors, apathy, anosognosia, apraxia, disinhibition, and confabulation — and explain what may actually be happening in the brain when they occur. Because when you understand why a behavior is happening, it can completely change the way you see it.

If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here.

And if your next question is, "Okay, but what do I DO when this happens?" I have two resources that can help:

→ Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc

→ My new book, The Dementia Care Toolkit is officially available for pre-order. ➡️ Preorder your copy here: https://careblazers.com/toolkit

⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 - Why these behaviors are almost never a choice

1:31 - Apathy and the broken motivation switch

3:51 - Anosognosia and why they do not believe they have dementia

6:12 - Apraxia and why simple tasks stop working

8:26 - Disinhibition and what the frontal lobes control

10:11 - Confabulation and why it is not lying

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for medical guidance.

When someone with dementia knows they're struggling, they may start doing less and less. They might get frustrated, say things like "I can't do anything right," or stop doing things they used to enjoy.

In this episode, I'm talking about why this can happen and, more importantly, how you can help. I'll share some simple ways to support their confidence and adapt activities as their abilities change. If you'd like to see this episode on video, you can hop on over to my YouTube channel here.

→ Learn about the Care Collective: https://tinyurl.com/podcast-cc

⏱ CHAPTERS

0:00 - A Careblazer's question: is he losing motivation, or does he know he's struggling

1:23 - What anosognosia actually is, and why this is something different

3:10 - Practical ways to support someone who's aware they're struggling

3:42 - A real story: adapting a beloved hobby instead of giving it up

6:01 - What to watch for, and when to loop in the doctor

→ My new book, The Dementia Care Toolkit is officially available for pre-order. ➡️ Preorder your copy here: https://careblazers.com/toolkit

→ Get free weekly tools and tips in my newsletter, The Dementia Dose: https://tinyurl.com/dementiadose-podcast

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Hi, I'm Dr. Natali Edmonds, a board-certified geropsychologist specializing in dementia care. Whether your loved one has Alzheimer's, frontotemporal, Lewy body, vascular, or mixed dementia, we believe that to create a dementia-friendly world, we must first create a caregiver-friendly world.

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider for medical guidance.