Aging isn't just for old people - we are all connected. As the world ages at break-neck speed, how well are we preparing future generations to live in an aging world? Are we treating the very young and very old in our society as bookends simply in place to hold our "middle" years in place?
Topics: The Faith Community, Senior Care Professionals, caregivers, Dementia Live, aging, understanding
Caring for a close family member friend can be emotionally overwhelming. While many caregivers find fulfillment in helping another person, along with this comes feelings of loss, anger, grief, and guilt. Caregivers struggle with depression and anxiety at a much higher rate than the general population. Counseling can be very beneficial for helping people with what is called caregiver burnout.
Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, dementia, Family, Caregiver, caregivers, leadership, Faith Community, Caregiver Burnout, Burnout, Depression, families, Anxiety, Counseling
Dear, Honey, Hun, Sweetie, Buddy, Chief, That’s a good boy, Let's go potty now. No, I am not talking to my 18-month-old, I am repeating terms of endearment and phrases I hear in memory care and assisted living every day. There is so much research behind the use of this type of language researchers refer to it as elderspeak. I know I am guilty of using terms like these and I know you are too but explore the impact it may be having on our residents.
Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, dementia care, The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, Senior Care, dementia, Caregiver, compassionate touch, Dementia Live, leadership, Hospital Professionals, eldercare
Challenging behavior is a catch-all term that, in the context of dementia, includes one or combinations of things like shouting, wandering, biting, throwing things, repetitive talking repetitive movements, destroying personal possessions and other objects without regard for whom it belongs, agitation and general anger, physical or verbal attacks on others, waking others at night, making sexually inappropriate comments, disrobing inappropriately, and urinating or defecating in undesirable locations. This is not an all-inclusive list and I am sure you can think of many more examples that fit under the umbrella term of challenging behavior.
Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, The Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, dementia, compassionate touch, Dementia Live, Hospital Professionals, behaviors, Person centered care, Behavioral Expression, staff, Challenging Behaviors
Anticipatory grief refers to a grief reaction that occurs before an impending loss. Typically, the impending loss is a death of someone close due to illness but it can also be experienced by dying individuals themselves.
Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, caregivers, Faith Community, chronic illness, Hospice, death, Grief, Anticipatory grief
The number of older people is rising dramatically, particularly those in the 85 years and above age group. Because the likelihood of developing dementia increases with age, reaching a one in 3 chance by the time a person reaches 85, we must turn our attention to eldercare, age-friendly initiatives to be that of dementia-friendly initiatives. Let's look at what research tells us about how our neighborhoods can be transformed to age-friendly, dementia-friendly places for people to live as they grow older.
Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, dementia, Dementia Live, leadership, older adults, environment, Dementia-Friendly neighborhoods, Urban designers
Want to connect with your grandmother or grandfather but can’t go the miles to see them and don’t know what to say over the phone?
Topics: The Faith Community, AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, dementia, grandchildren, 360 Eldercare Solutions, grandparents
There is an urgent need to equip caregivers to better respond to and care for persons living with dementia. Traditional training models have focused on the number of classroom hours an individual must spend in training, assuming that a person who completes the required training hours is ready to work successfully with people living with dementia. The shift to competency-based training improves dementia care by focusing on mastery of tasks and tools that are learned.
Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, dementia care, Senior Care Professionals, care staff, dementia, caregivers, compassionate touch, Dementia Live, leadership, Hospital Professionals, dementia training, staff
I was privileged to speak yesterday to the Dallas Area Parkinson's Society (DAPS) about how care partners can embrace wellness and joy. For persons living with Parkinson's Disease and other neurological conditions, finding wellness and joy in everyday life can be challenging and elusive at best. I know this first-hand, as my mother lived with Parkinson's Disease (PD). Speaking from experience as her partner in this journey, my words of wisdom for embracing wellness and joy encompassed some simple steps.
Topics: The Faith Community, AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, dementia, Care Partners, compassionate touch, Parkinson's Disease, wellness, Joy
What is a harder conversation topic with elderly parents - money or death? If you guessed death, you get a gold star. Why do we find it so very difficult to discuss the inevitable? Surely we've all come to grips with the fact there is one thing certain about life and that is death. We can embrace the ending by learning to embrace the life that we still have with our loved ones until the times comes when they are no longer with us.
Topics: AGE-u-cate Training Institute, Senior Care Professionals, Family Caregiver, memories, caregivers, compassionate touch, Faith Community, Compassion, families, End-of-life, death
