Make Dementia Your B*tch!

I often hear, “It’s ok for my family member to drive, even though he has dementia (or Alzheimer’s). He doesn’t go far. He only goes to local places, like Walmart and church.” Listen as I offer some questions for you to honestly ask yourself about their driving: 

1. Is the person with dementia getting lost in familiar places?  A "yes" response to this question is a definite NO, the person should not be driving.

2. Any recent accidents or "near-misses"? 

3. Any new damage showing up on the car?

4. Any impulsive or road-rage behaviors?

5. Sudden pattern of traffic violations?

6. Would you feel comfortable riding as a passenger if the person with dementia were driving?

7. Would you feel comfortable having your child or grandchild as a passenger if the person with dementia were driving?

I show caregivers how to confidently manage dementia behaviors, so that their lives and the lives of their loved ones become easier and calmer. Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

My book, "Make Dementia Your B*tch! An Easy Guide to Understanding Dementia-related Behaviors" is now available on Amazon!  Order it here.

Frustrated with care refusals? Go to https://makedementiayourbitch.com for a free copy of my checklist, “15 Ways to Manage Dementia Care Refusals.”

Have a dementia question? Want to hear it answered on a future podcast? Email me: [email protected].

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

Just launched the Make Dementia Your B*tch YouTube Channel!

#alzheimers #caregiving #driving #Lewy Body #frontotemporal #vascular #dementia #dementia bitch

In episode 17, I talked about general ways to prevent care refusals. In this episode, I go a little deeper and talk about how to use 10 specific strategies to derail care refusals in real time. Those strategies are "entering their reality," bridging (an extension of priming), distraction, hand-over-hand, mirror-mirror, caregiver vibes, "ask for help", "apologize with praise," rewards, and rescue.

I show caregivers how to confidently manage dementia behaviors, so that their lives and the lives of their loved ones become easier and calmer. Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

Frustrated with care refusals? Go to https://makedementiayourbitch.com for a free copy of my checklist, “15 Ways to Manage Dementia Care Refusals.”

Have a dementia question? Want to hear it answered on a future podcast? Email me: [email protected].

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

New YouTube channel!

#alzheimers #lewy body #frontotemporal #dementia #caregiving #care refusal #caregiving #dementiabitch

In today’s podcast, I answer the question, “How do I know if my family member living with dementia can safely make decisions?” This concern usually comes up around financial issues and living arrangements. It is important for caregivers to understand that the ability to make a decision is not an "on/off" light switch. It is more like a gradual dimmer and must be evaluated for each individual and for each circumstance.

The ability to make a decision is called decisional capacity. How do you know if someone living with dementia has the decisional capacity for a specific problem or situation? These 5 questions can start the conversation rolling. Caregivers will probably have other related questions for each of the big ones.

Frustrated with care refusals? Go to https://makedementiayourbitch.com for a free copy of my checklist, “15 Ways to Manage Dementia Care Refusals.”

Have a dementia question? Want to hear it answered on a future podcast? Email me: [email protected].

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

I show caregivers how to confidently manage dementia behaviors, so that their lives and the lives of their loved ones become easier and calmer. Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

#alzheimers #lewy body #frontotemporal #dementia #caregiving #care refusal #caregiving

Hallucinations refer to sights, sounds, feelings, and smells that come from inside the brain. Hallucinations are common with Lewy Body Dementia but can happen with any dementia. The person with dementia is seeing, hearing, or smelling stuff that the rest of us are not experiencing. Hallucinations can also happen when people living with dementia experience delirium. Delirium occurs when people living with dementia suddenly become more confused than usual; infections, especially bladder infections, can cause delirium in people with dementia.

In people with dementia, hallucinations may arise from changes in the brain and the brain chemicals. Hallucinations may be scary, like seeing a stranger standing next to the bed. Or they can be comforting, like seeing and hearing young children playing in the living room. Sometimes the hallucinations may be more like vivid memories, such as when a person with dementia sees a long-dead family member from long ago.

Learn how to handle hallucinations that are scary to people living with dementia.

Frustrated with care refusals? Go to https://makedementiayourbitch.com for a free copy of my checklist, “15 Ways to Manage Dementia Care Refusals.”

Have a dementia question? Want to hear it answered on a future podcast? Email me: [email protected].

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

Are you struggling with dementia behaviors? I can help!! I also provide webinars and on-site training to groups! Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

#alzheimers #lewy body #frontotemporal #dementia #caregiving #care refusal #caregiving

Holidays can be wonderful, exhausting, amazing, and problematic all at the same time. Add being a dementia caregiver, and things get complicated! This year may be worse, because many families could not spend time together thanks to last winter's coronavirus surge! In this podcast,  I offer 5 simple tips to make any holiday--especially this Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Yule, and Christmas--dementia friendly (and keep you from wanting to strangle any 'helpful' family members!).

Here are the 5 tips:

1. Introductions--no guessing games!

2. Tailor holiday activities to give the person living with dementia a job and purpose.

3. Avoid prime-time services and events.

4. Have a buddy nearby for caregiver back-up.

5. Have scrapbooks and photographs within reach.

Frustrated with care refusals? Go to https://makedementiayourbitch.com for a free copy of my checklist, “15 Ways to Manage Dementia Care Refusals.”

Got dementia questions? Want me to explain how to handle a dementia problem in my podcast? Email me: [email protected]

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

Are you struggling with dementia behaviors? I can help!! I also provide webinars and on-site training to groups! Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

#alzheimers #lewy body #frontotemporal #dementia #caregiving #care refusal #caregiving #holidays

Care refusal is a real pain in the ass. It makes caregiving that much harder. Learn how to hack procedural memories and avoid triggering care refusals using your own appearance and the environment. Other techniques include short 1-step commands, gestures/pantomimes, encouraging self-care (and how to actually do this!), schedules and routines, avoiding elderspeak, chaining, vibes, dementia time travel, and entering their reality. I developed and tested these strategies in my own research and have published this information in boring nursing/medical journals that no one ever reads. In the podcast, I package the strategies in nice neat chunks and send them your way!

NOTE: There are some glitchy segments in this podcast. I am working with Anchor to fix the issues.

Frustrated with care refusals? Go to https://makedementiayourbitch.com for a free copy of my checklist, “15 Ways to Manage Dementia Care Refusals.”

#alzheimers #lewy body #frontotemporal #dementia #caregiving #care refusal #caregiving #dementiabitch

Got dementia questions? Want me to explain how to handle a dementia problem in my podcast? Email me: [email protected]

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

Are you struggling with dementia behaviors? I can help!! I also provide webinars and on-site training to groups! Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

In last week’s podcast, I talked about ways to help a person living with dementia maintain their abilities to do activities. In today’s podcast, I will talk why people with dementia refuse help, even though we can clearly see they need it!

There are three main, general drivers of care-refusal behavior: Lack of awareness, the “automatic no” and refusals based on fear. In today’s podcast, I will explain those three causes. In next week’s podcast, I will talk about what to do when people with dementia refuse help.

The Make Dementia Your B*tch book is getting ready to launch. You can read the first 3 chapters for free! Go to www.makedmentiayourbitch.com for a free pdf!

Have a dementia question? Want to hear it answered on a future podcast? Email me: [email protected]. 

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

Are you struggling with dementia behaviors? I can help!! I also provide webinars and on-site training to groups! Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

#alzheimers #lewy body #frontotemporal #dementia #caregiving #care refusal #caregiving #dementiabitch

Well-meaning family and formal caregivers sometimes start to "overdo" for persons living with dementia. "I don't want her to get hurt" or "I don't want him to feel embarrassed" or "It is just so much easier if I do (fill in the blank)." What people do not realize is that once a person with dementia forgets how to do an activity or task, he or she is rarely able to relearn it. There just aren't enough nerve cells and brain chemicals to knit together a new memory.

People with dementia are vibrant, wonderful people...who happen to have a little, or maybe a lot, of forgetfulness. Here's the thing...the drive, the search for meaning, the desire for affection, the desire to be HEARD...remain. What changes is that the OUTLETS for the expression of these important desires and drives get cut off by the dementia...regardless of the type. The loss of these outlets create anger, frustration, irritability and other behaviors. Sensitive and meaningful interactions with others can reduce the isolation felt by people with dementia.

Learn how to adapt previous hobbies and activities so that the person living with dementia can still have positive outlets while maintaining optimum function!

Have a dementia question? Want to hear it answered on a future podcast? Email me: [email protected].

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

Are you struggling with dementia behaviors? I can help!! I also provide webinars and on-site training to groups! Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

#alzheimers #lewy body #frontotemporal #dementia #caregiving #care refusal #caregiving #dementiabitch

Irritability is a problem that usually first appears in the mild stage of dementia. It can be subtle at first. The person living with dementia does not want to go to social events. Or, he or she wants to leave right in the middle of event. You, the caregiver, are constantly being snapped at. "You talk too much." "You ask too many questions." The reason for this irritability is loss of neurons. Learn how to adjust your approach to reduce these times of irritability. 

Have a dementia question? Want to hear it answered on a future podcast? Email me: [email protected].

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

Are you struggling with dementia behaviors? I can help!! I also provide webinars and on-site training to groups! Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

#alzheimers #lewy body #frontotemporal #dementia #caregiving #care refusal #caregiving #dementiabitch

Dementia-centric communication is the ability to interact with people who have dementia in a respectful and meaningful way. I hear, over and over again, “I don’t know what to say to a person with dementia.” “What if I do something wrong?” Fear not, I am here to help by providing some key points to guide you. The over-riding thing to keep in mind is that our communication patterns respect the dignity and personhood of the person with dementia. In other words, let me set you straight:  the person with dementia is forgetful, NOT stupid. As long as you keep that in the forefront of your mind, you should be OK. 

In this podcast, I give dementia caregivers 5 ways to improve their communication and interactions with persons who have dementia. 1. Chill  your vibes; 2.Smile and introduce; 3. Short, sweet concrete; 4. Argument-free zone; and 5. Interactions that maximize abilities. 

Have a dementia question? Want to hear it answered on a future podcast? Email me: [email protected].

Looking for a community? I have my own Facebook page for dementia caregivers: https://www.facebook.com/DementiaCentric

Are you struggling with dementia behaviors? I can help!! I also provide webinars and on-site training to groups! Check out my offerings: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com

#alzheimers #lewy body #frontotemporal #dementia #caregiving #care refusal #caregiving #dementiabitch