Alzheimer’s

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Potential Causes of Skin Picking with Dementia and How to Help

Dear Carol: My mom is in mid-stage Alzheimer’s, so she has fidgety hands. Even though I lotion her skin regularly, she’ll zero in on...

Image background is a green house with rows of flowers. Foregound is a middle-aged couple. The gray haired man is tall and wearing a brown sweater. He's embracing a woman with long brown hair drawn back showing gray hair at the temples. She's wearing a brown and white print summer dress with off-the-shoulder ruffle.

Accepting Alzheimer’s Diagnosis Hard, Yet Capacity for Joy Remains

Dear Carol: Six months ago, our lives changed when my husband, age 58, was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He has good doctors who...

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When a Person Living with Dementia Says, ‘I Just Want to Go Home’

Update: Some current thinking is that the emotion behind this sad lament is more about finding a level of emotional comfort than thinking back...

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Elders Who Abuse Their Family Caregivers: Yes – It Happens

Most of us have seen evidence of people being harder on those they love than they are on strangers or even people they don’t...

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Coping when Both Parents Have Dementia

“My mom and dad both have dementia. I am all alone taking care of them since. I have no one to help me. I...

Family Disagrees about Moving Widowed Mom Weeks After Husband’s Death

Dear Carol: Dad died two weeks ago at 89 years of age. Mom is 87 and has what they think is early-stage Alzheimer’s. She’s...

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Ways to Minimize Grief for a Surviving Spouse with Dementia

Deciding whether to tell someone who is cognitively impaired that their spouse has died is a serious and often recurring struggle. Dementia and death...

Affectionate older gray-haired couple, man in blue sweater and woman in red sweater.

Alzheimer’s: Theft, Paranoia or Forgetfulness?

The truth, as they see it, is still the truth in their eyes. Delusions, hallucinations, agitation, aggression and depression are all part of the...

In the foreground we see a jumble of clothing, mostly in brown tones with some rush and cream. Behind the mess is a woman in a bulky coat in the same colors. We see some brownish hair on top of her head but her face is buried behind the jumbled clothing.

Rummaging: When People with Dementia Dig Through Drawers or Trash

Dear Carol: I’m struggling. My husband was always super neat, but Alzheimer’s gradually took away his ability to organize even the basics of living....

Planning a “Picnic” for a Loved One in a Senior Living Community

While most senior living communities offer an array of programs and events, activities directors often work with limited budgets and are challenged to meet...