By Sue Silcox, AGE-u-cate® Training Institute, Australia

Delirium is an acute disorder of attention and global cognition, including perception and memory, and is treatable.  Learning the differences between delirium and dementia is important for professional and family caregivers, as the diagnosis is missed in more than 50% of the cases.

We are honored to be a part of the National Pioneer Network Conference kicking off today in beautiful Denver, Colorado.  Ushering in a New Culture of Change promises to be an enlightening and invigorating educational and networking event for participants and those serving the elder care industry.  AGE-u-cate® Training Institute will be offering it's internationally acclaimed Dementia Live® Experience and Compassionate Touch® Program to innovators

Although persons living dementia may have challenges with eating, such as chewing, ability to taste or smell food, or remembering how to eat, the dining experience can have a tremendous effect on their socialization, how much they eat and if the time they spend eating is enjoyable or frustrating.    Improving the dining experience is certainly possible, whether in a community-based setting, a hospital in the home or even in a restaurant.

Stress is simply a part of life.  Think about each and every stressor that affects our lives almost daily.  Here are just a few to think about:  traffic, annoying telemarketing calls (what telemarketing calls aren't annoying?), junk mail, the news, job demands, airline delays (let's just airports in general), and the list goes on.  Life is complicated, stressful and caregiving is even more so on just about every level.  So instead of talking about eliminating stressors, let's talk about how caregivers can put coping skills into practice so that falling into the traps of anxiety, depression and more is eliminated or decreased as much as possible.

Caring for people with dementia requires specialized communication skills training.  Unfortunately, healthcare professionals and family caregivers often receive little training to enable them to meet the communicative needs of people with dementia.

Although Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is largely misunderstood, it is the most common form of dementia for people under age 60.