Turning Points in Dementia / Alzheimer's Care

The issue of understanding, dealing with, and providing care for people diagnosed with Dementia/ Alzheimer's, as well as all those included in the Caregiving Partnership/ Team, is a very complex one. 

I have tried to brainstorm some of the issues with which we must grapple. 

1. Understanding the cause of the Dementia
2. Understanding the nature of the Dementia
3. Understanding the expressions of the Dementia
4. Understanding the trajectory and progress of Dementia
5. Understanding the difference between old age changes and Dementia
6. Understanding how to support of the person with the Dementia
7. Understanding how to support the person with the Dementia at the various stages of the disease
8. Understanding how to support the person with Dementia while understanding that slowly they are not able to care for themselves
9. Understanding how to support the person with Dementia while understanding that their skills may come and go, return at the same or lesser ability level, and eventually disappear totally
10. Understanding how to support the person with Dementia while continuing to acknowledge and respect them as a person
11. Understanding how to support the person with Dementia while continuing to respect their rights as a human being
12. Understanding how to support the caregiver in the Dementia team/ partnership as well as the person diagnosed.
13. Understanding how to support the family of the person with Dementia.

1. Realizing the importance of relationships in general 
2. Realizing the importance of respect in relationships
3. Realizing the importance of communication in relationships
4. Realizing that in many ways living a good life with Dementia is the same as LIVING A GOOD LIFE
5. Realizing the importance of partnerships in caring relationships
6. Realizing relationships depend on the nature of the person, their experiences, their personalities
7. Realizing that changes over time will require changes in relationships in general.
8. Realizing that changes over time will require changes in approach to supporting the person with dementia
9. Realizing that the person is still the person and not the disease
10. Realizing there is no easy, one good way, "silver bullet" way to deal with Dementia
11. Realizing that the very nature of having to make decisios for the person with Dementia is in essescence a violation of their human rights and must be done very carefully with love and respect
12. Realizing what the person with the diagnosis of Dementia is experiencing
13. Realizing what the person supporting the person with the diagnosis is experiencing
14. Realizing what the family supporting the person with the diagnosis is experiencing

1. Focusing on how to help medical professionals be better able to support people diagnosed with Dementia as well as their caregivers and families.
2. Focusing less on the medicalization of Dementia
3. Focusing on transition in home, family, relationships
4. Focusing on redefining of home, family, relationships
5. Focusing on supporting Dementia cognitive and physical losses as a physical/ mental disability
6. Focusing on the person, not the disease as much as possible
7. Focusing on human rights and respect for the person who slowly is no longer able to make decisons for themselves
8. Focusing on living a full, meaningful life that will change as the Dementia changes
9. Focusing on alternative skills, activities, experiences that will change as the Dementia changes
10. Focusing on mobilizing community support for caregiver teams
11. Focusing on keeping a balance between meeting the needs of the person diagnosed with Dementia and not assuming the person cannot meet their own needs
12. Focusing on keeping a balance between meeting the needs of the person diagnosed with Dementia, not assuming that they cannot meet their own needs, but stepping in before the person becomes too frustrated.
13. Focuing on keeping a balance between meeting the needs of the person diagnosed with  Dementia, not assuming that they cannot meet their own needs, but stepping in before the person becomes too frustrated, and realizing that this may change often if not day to day or hour to hour. 

1. Research on finding a cure for Dementia
2. Research on best practices for supporting those diagnosed with Dementia
3. Research on best practices for supporting all those involved in caring partnerships
4. Research on living well with Dementia
5. Research on best practices for facilities working with those diagnosed with Dementia
6. Research on design of facilities for those needing protected care

1. Sound Bite: "How to keep life relevant? Useful? Meaningful? Personal?"
2. Sound Bite: "Individualize not institutionalize"
3. Sound Bite: "Individualize not medicalize"
4. Sound Bite: "Live until you die"
5. Sound Bite: "The diagnosis does not have to be a death sentence."
6. Sound Bite: "There is quailty life after diagnosis"
7. Sound Bite: "As in life, so with Dementia, just a little more complicated."
8. Sound Bite: "Not segregated into caring communities but rather communities that know how to care"
9. Sound Bite: "Living a good live with Dementia is living a good life period"
10. Sound Bite: "We are all born with a death sentence!"