This September, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) is launching its 2025 World Alzheimer Report with a central theme: dementia rehabilitation. The focus is clear and urgent. Around the world, families and professionals are looking for practical strategies that help people living with dementia retain function, preserve dignity, and sustain quality of life.
Rehabilitation is not only about physical therapy or high-tech interventions. At its core, it is about everyday approaches that maintain abilities, reduce distress, and strengthen human connection. This is where Compassionate Touch® fits in seamlessly.
Compassionate Touch® (CT) is an evidence-informed approach that teaches caregivers, health professionals, and families to use intentional, skilled touch during daily interactions. Tasks like bathing, dressing, or mealtime support are transformed into therapeutic opportunities that reduce agitation, calm anxiety, and foster meaningful connection.
“Rehabilitation is about helping people with dementia live well—preserving dignity, reducing isolation, and supporting daily function.”
These outcomes are not abstract ideals. They mirror the very kind of rehabilitation interventions highlighted by ADI—person-centered, practical, and deeply effective. CT ensures that routine care moments become more than tasks; they become opportunities to restore comfort, preserve dignity, and strengthen bonds.
What makes Compassionate Touch® particularly powerful is its foundation in occupational therapy. CT was created by an occupational therapist and grounded in principles of re-engagement, sensory support, and functional adaptation. That professional pedigree ensures it is not only compassionate but credible.
Occupational therapy emphasizes that rehabilitation must be holistic—addressing not only physical function but also emotional well-being and social connection. CT embodies this philosophy by combining skilled touch with communication strategies that help caregivers adapt in real time. The result is not just better care, but stronger resilience for both care partners and those living with dementia.
One of the most compelling aspects of Compassionate Touch® is its accessibility. Rehabilitation does not have to be confined to therapy sessions or clinical settings. It can happen in the rhythm of everyday life: while helping a loved one dress in the morning, sharing a meal together, or simply holding a hand during a moment of distress.
Framing CT as “an occupational therapist–designed approach to dementia rehabilitation through the power of touch” highlights an important truth. Rehabilitation is not reserved for specialists with advanced equipment. It can be woven into every interaction, making it possible for caregivers at all levels to create meaningful change.
World Alzheimer’s Month is not only a time to raise awareness but also a call to action. This year’s theme of dementia rehabilitation invites organizations, professionals, and families to reimagine care in ways that are both compassionate and practical.
Compassionate Touch® answers that call. It gives caregivers tools they can use immediately—strategies that are easy to learn, yet powerful enough to transform how people experience care. It helps organizations strengthen their dementia-friendly practices and positions them as leaders in innovative, person-centered care.
For families, CT offers hope. It shows that connection is still possible, even in the face of memory loss and communication barriers. For professionals, it delivers a proven way to improve outcomes, reduce stress, and elevate standards of care.
At its heart, rehabilitation is about more than function. It is about dignity. It is about helping people with dementia live well, not just longer. Compassionate Touch® delivers on this promise by turning everyday care into a therapeutic practice that reduces isolation, builds trust, and supports engagement.
Care partners often ask: “How can I really help?” With Compassionate Touch®, the answer is clear: rehabilitation is not a scheduled session; it is embedded in the way you interact—how you hold a hand, adjust your tone of voice, or offer reassurance in moments of confusion.
As we mark World Alzheimer’s Month 2025, the call to prioritize dementia rehabilitation is stronger than ever. Compassionate Touch® provides a clear, evidence-informed path forward. It bridges the gap between theory and practice, between caregiving tasks and meaningful connection.
This September, we are making it easier to bring Compassionate Touch® to your team or community. In honor of World Alzheimer’s Month, we are offering a 15% discount on Compassionate Touch® through the end of September. Use the code WorldAlzMonth at checkout.
Because every care partner deserves tools that empower them. And every person living with dementia deserves care that preserves not only their abilities, but their dignity and humanity.
Learn more about Compassionate Touch®