Search Results for: questions

Care Partnering, Challenges & Solutions, Resources, Toward better care

20 questions that help explain why people with dementia get agitated and physically aggressive

amazingsusan

Note: this post has been shared thousands of times since I first published it. Also, Dr. John Morley, director of the division of geriatric medicine at Saint Louis University, one of the United States foremost authorities on geriatrics, and former editor of the Journal of America Medical Directors Association called the piece a “wonderful insight,… Continue reading 20 questions that help explain why people with dementia get agitated and physically aggressive

Challenges & Solutions, Resources, Toward better care

20 questions to ask yourself when someone who lives with dementia wants to “go home” or tries to escape wherever they are

amazingsusan

Wanting to “go home” is a desire often expressed by people who live with Alzheimer disease and/or other types of dementia, even when they are in their own homes. Not being able to fulfill a loved one’s desire “go home” can be incredibly frustrating for care partners who would certainly take their family member living… Continue reading 20 questions to ask yourself when someone who lives with dementia wants to “go home” or tries to escape wherever they are

Care Partnering, Resources, Toward better care

10 great reasons to ask 20 questions and how to create them

amazingsusan

Isn’t it funny how we often walk through life without pausing to ask ourselves why we’re doing what we’re doing, or even if it’s important to do it? We march through our days robotically, repeating our routines and possibly making the same mindless mistakes without a second thought. I’ve learned it’s useful to stop and… Continue reading 10 great reasons to ask 20 questions and how to create them

Care Partnering, Resources, Toward better care

20 questions to ask when someone living with dementia “resists” or “refuses” care

amazingsusan

I have learned through personal experience, reading and research that people living with dementia (PLWD) behave in logical, natural and understandable ways to stressful situations – just like most of the rest of us do. They react as any “normal” person would, but their behaviour is attributed to the disease rather than to whatever catalyst actually… Continue reading 20 questions to ask when someone living with dementia “resists” or “refuses” care

Challenges & Solutions, Tips, tools & skills, Videos

20 questions to ask yourself about dementia-related incontinence

amazingsusan

One of the first things we learn to do as toddlers is to eliminate our waste in socially acceptable ways, usually in private. The cultural norms and taboos associated with this normal bodily function are deeply ingrained; they remain with us for our entire lives. The elderly, and people who live with dementia in the… Continue reading 20 questions to ask yourself about dementia-related incontinence

Advocacy, Antipsychotic drugs, NHBPS, Toward better care

20 questions to ask when a person living with dementia declines to take her or his medication

amazingsusan

Care partners and care staff may become frustrated when someone who lives with dementia declines to take medications that care partners and care staff believe are beneficial for the person living with dementia. If you are one of those care partners or care staff, asking yourself these 20 questions might help address that frustration, and… Continue reading 20 questions to ask when a person living with dementia declines to take her or his medication

Care Partnering, Resources, Toward better care

20 questions to ask when a care partner or resident walks around at night

amazingsusan

My first few months as the full-time care partner to my mom while she was still living in her own home were difficult, mostly because I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I learned as I went, but it was a slow process, and some knowledge came too late to be of much… Continue reading 20 questions to ask when a care partner or resident walks around at night

Care Partnering, Resources, Tips, tools & skills

20 questions to ask yourself if you’re wondering whether or not you should visit someone who lives with dementia

amazingsusan

This week a new subscriber sent me an email, which said in part: “My mother has dementia, and I went to see her a year ago. She got violent with me and verbally abusive. I took it personally and I haven’t seen her since. However, I have been sending cards and items of clothing in… Continue reading 20 questions to ask yourself if you’re wondering whether or not you should visit someone who lives with dementia

Care Partnering, Resources, Tips, tools & skills

20 questions to change the direction of dementia anxiety and aggression

amazingsusan

I discovered through personal experience, research and observation that people living with dementia (PLWD) behave in logical, natural and understandable ways to stressful situations, just like most of the rest of us do. Although they react as any “normal” person would, their behaviour is more often than not mistakenly attributed to the disease rather than to… Continue reading 20 questions to change the direction of dementia anxiety and aggression

Care Partnering, Challenges & Solutions, Life & Living, Tips, tools & skills

20 questions to ask yourself when you blow up

amazingsusan

It happens to everyone at one time or another: we lose our temper with someone we love, we say things we didn’t mean in the heat of the moment, and we’re wracked by guilt afterward. Care partners to people who live with dementia are no different from anyone else. We too lose our temper and say… Continue reading 20 questions to ask yourself when you blow up