Dementia care

Cover of Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories. The background is a sepia-toned room. In the foreground is a picture of the author's father, sitting in a contemplative pose with arms crossed. This image is also sepia-toned in browns of different shades. To the right is the book title.

Caregiving: A Noble Legacy To Be Proud Of

Have you thought about what you’d want your obituary to say about you? I hadn’t until I was recently asked to write...

This image shows a doctor's office with a young medical person barely visible on the left. She is demonstrating a device to the patient who is sitting on the exam table. The patient is an older woman wearing dark plastic rimmed glasses and a light blue short sleeved, collared shirt with cream slacks.

How to Talk to the Doctor About Your Aging Parent or Spouse

A frequent problem expressed among family caregivers is that their aging loved ones aren’t honest with their doctors. At home, they may...

a closeup image of an oldr man with a weathered face and a lost yet determined look on his face. We see his gray hair under a tan colored baseball style hat and he wears a navy golf shirt with white stripes in the collar.

People Experiencing Dementia Symptoms May Deny Any Concerns

Dear Carol: Do people with dementia deny their disease because of the stigma, or do they just not know they have it?...

This indoor image shows an older man in the forground. He's sitting in a chair but looking up at a younger woman who is smiling at him. He wears a pastel plaid summer sport shirt and she wears a white professional jacket.

Coping With Older Adults Who Won’t Accept In-Home Caregivers

An in-home caregiver’s best efforts are often met with anger (or even abuse) dished out by the elder they are supposed to...

A young woman with darkhair combed back wears pink heart-shaped sunglasses and a red halter top. She's holding an ice cream confection to her mouth ready to take a bit. On a plate in front of her are more treats.

Coping with Caregiving: The Habit of Emotional Eating

As far back as breast or formula feeding, most of us learned that a sweet taste meant care and comfort. As we...

Are People with Advanced Alzheimer’s Aware of Their Surroundings?

Even among medical experts, you will find differing opinions on how much someone with advanced dementia of any type understands. Alzheimer’s disease...

This indoor image has a white drapery in the background. In the foreground, a woman is viewed with her head tipped so we only see the top of her salt an dpepper hair that is drawn back, pus the top of her shoulders. Her arms around around an older man who faces the camera. He has short salt and pepper hair combed foreward, and is laughing gaily as she hugs him. He's wearing an olive shirt.

When a Loved One with Alzheimer’s Doesn’t Recognize You

Watching a loved one move through the stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can be one life’s toughest and most heart-breaking challenges. If...

The background is the exterior of an older brick building. Foreground is an old woman in a flowered hat and contrasting flowered shirt and beige pants slouching in a wheelchair. Her expression is unhappy

Challenging Caregiver Situations Abound: Here are 4

Caregiving throws many challenges our way, including establishing care routines for our elders that are not only challenging, but may be somewhat...

We see a gray-haired woman in a wheelchair from a back view as an attendant in white scrubs lays her hands reassuringly on her shoulders. The woman in the chair wears a dark gray sweater.

You Don’t Stop Being a Caregiver When Your Spouse Enters Memory Care

Dear Carol: My 56-year-old husband recently went into memory care. I visit every morning and often in the evening because, even though...

This image has a gray indoor backdrop. IN the foreground, a woman with long, light brown hair bends her had forward where she covers her face with her hands. She has light skin and red polished nails.

Tips to Cope With Dementia Caregiver Burnout

You watch your once mentally sharp loved one decline before your eyes. Their uncontrollable behaviors, mood swings, outbursts, confusion and memory loss...