More than 11 million Americans are caring for an aging parent while raising their own children at home. This is what experts* call “Sandwich Caregiving” where the adults are providing for both their parents and own young families.  Our guest, Deanne Poulos with Duet: Partners in Health and Aging, shares what you should think about as you develop a plan for becoming a caregiver to someone with dementia while also caring for children. She offers practical advice to caregivers about managing expectations and utilizing your family and friends to share some of the responsibilities as you redistribute roles and communicate goals of care. We discuss maintaining a sense of home for each family member as 3 different generations blend together, creating new traditions, and focusing less on minute details.

*National Alliance for Caregiving and Caring Across Generations, 2019.

We look back and revisit some of our favorite moments from Season 3, as well as dive a little deeper and untangle the podcast experience of our hosts and editor/producer, Amber Ayers. We discuss the overlying themes of our episodes and our intentionality as we invite guests to share with us, and you, how they came to be a part of the dementia community and what advice, strategies, and overall support they can offer to caregivers.

As we notice changes in our loved one, how can we identify normal progression of the disease apart from warning signs for something more serious? We asked Dr. Jeremy Pruzin, a neurologist from Banner Alzheimer’s Institute to help us untangle depression and apathy and identify behavioral strategies to help our person if they’re dealing with either one. We learn the difference between the two, some common signs of depression in an elderly person, and how to encourage less apathy without causing more conflict. Don’t miss his comments about how untreated depression as a younger person is a risk for developing dementia in the future.

Experiences of dementia and aging are grounded in Indigenous knowledge and culture, often resulting in memory loss being considered part of the natural lifecycle. That, and other barriers have made the work of Dr. Blythe Winchester, the Director for Geriatrics Services at Cherokee Indian Hospital & Chief Clinical Consultant in Geriatrics & Palliative Care with Indian Health Services, that much more important and impactful. She helps us untangle the alarming rate at which Indigenous peoples are projected to develop cognitive decline over the next 40 years and what efforts are being made to care for, support, and educate rural communities about this disease. While there are no specific words for “dementia” in Indigenous languages, her passion for this community helps bring the reality of this disease to light and connects people with the resources they need.

Reduce stigma and encourage acceptance – it’s become the mission for Barbara Mason, the Vice President of Home and Community-Based Services with Sun Health, and she’s found a way to do it through the Dementia Friendly America initiative. Our conversation with Barbara untangled just how detrimental it is to give into stigma surrounding dementia and how it can keep people from seeking treatment, deny them much needed socialization, and delay an overall feeling of acceptance. Her passion to educate, inform, and engage communities has helped the Dementia Friendly movement thrive not only in her city, but the state of Arizona. Learn more about the work she’s doing and how you can become a Dementia Friend.

It’s the question we’re all asking – is there a way to avoid developing cognitive impairment? We turn to Dr. Pierre N. Tariot for answers, Banner Alzheimer’s Institute director and a renowned researcher and clinician. No topic is off-limits as we untangle recent scientific findings on the benefits of diet, exercise, sleep, and other lifestyle actions that can help us get healthy, stay healthy, and possibly avoid diseases of the brain, like dementia. He also implores us to try a 6-week challenge to create a habit and take manageable steps toward better brain health.

Don’t wait. Make a plan now for your end-of-life care needs while you’re able to express your wishes. We chat with Barbara Klauser, a licensed clinical social worker with Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, to better understand why it’s so important to have a conversation with our family and make choices about what we want for our health care in the future. Barb helps us untangle exactly what advance directives are, which forms we need to complete, and how to have these sometimes-uncomfortable talks with our loved ones about what we want our legacy to be.

If you’ve ever searched the web for “diet and dementia”, you were probably overwhelmed by the amount of conflicting information in the results. You’re not alone. We asked Dr. Pallavi Joshi from Banner Alzheimer’s Institute to help us untangle it all. She breaks down the difference between eating to help prevent cognitive impairment and eating to slow cognitive decline, and shares with us the single most important dietary factor for both. She also explains the popular diets you have likely heard of and if there really are supplements that can be taken to prevent dementia. Get ready to try some kitchen experimentation to find the best way to incorporate small changes into your lifestyle after this one!

Have you ever thought about donating your body to science? It may seem like a futuristic thought, but not for Dr. Tom Beach, Director of the Banner Sun Health Research Institute Brain and Body Donation Program, and his team. This unique program allows researchers to study the brain and other body tissues after death, looking for the cause of disease, starting with alterations in chemical reactions. Listen in to hear more about the research behind scientific discoveries that propel the search for a cure forward and how you can get involved.

It’s not always easy to talk to children about health concerns or topics we may consider to be “grown-up”, so we asked Geriatrician Dr. Corinne Self & Nurse Practitioner Melissa Koon from ElderHealth to help. We discuss the most common concerns like, the best way to explain dementia to children, when you should talk about it, and what types of emotions and feelings you can expect from your child. Learn how to create a safe space for conversation and how to encourage more meaningful interactions between children and their loved one.