Blog

Critical Dementia Skill #7 Rallying the Family

Written by M. Estrade on 19th May 2020 Blog

This is the seventh installment in the Critical Dementia Skills (CDS) series. For more information on the series, start HERE. You can also click on the CDS tags in the blog for more. Perhaps the only thing that is as complex as dementia is the dynamic nature of families. Every family is unique and when you consider the number of family members, other family responsibilities, career situations, the strength of the relationships, and sometimes geographic locations.

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Critical Dementia Skill #6 Integrating Your Catholic Faith

Written by M. Estrade on 11th May 2020 Blog

This is the sixth installment in the Critical Dementia Skills (CDS) series. For more information on the series, start HERE. You can also click on the CDS tags in the blog for more. This CDS article, as with all first articles (those ending in”.0″), will introduce the idea of ensuring that a care partner and their loved one stay can practice their Catholic faith and stay connected to their parish activities. Dementia is a broad term used to describe a group of chronic symptoms that may include memory impairment disrupting everyday life,

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Critical Dementia Skill #5 Creating Your Emotional Support Network

Written by M. Estrade on 2nd May 2020 Blog

This is the fifth installment in the Critical Dementia Skills (CDS) series. For more information on the series, start HERE. You can also click on the CDS tags in the blog for more. We introduced the critical dementia skill of Building your Dementia Team in CDS 2.0 and now turn to another team that’s best understood as a network. All of us belong to networks of people through family, friends, work colleagues, fellow parishioners, and other activities.

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Critical Dementia Skill #4 Forming a Back-Up Plan

Written by M. Estrade on 27th April 2020 Blog

This is the fourth installment in the Critical Dementia Skills (CDS) series. For more information on the series, start HERE. You can also click on the CDS tags in the blog for more. As a Boy Scout and eventual Eagle Scout, I learned the importance of our motto, “Be Prepared.” As a scout, it felt more like making sure that you had all of the right equipment when hiking or camping. As I matured, it became clear that the equipment is only part of that motto. 

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Critical Dementia Skill #3 Building your Dementia Team

Written by M. Estrade on 20th April 2020 Blog

This is the third installment in the Critical Dementia Skills (CDS) series. For more information on the series, start HERE. You can also click on the CDS tags in the blog for more. Dementia is a large and complex challenge, so you need a large and comprehensive team to support you and your family. This article is an introduction to the core team members we recommend that you recruit for your large team. Later articles will offer in-depth information on each role.

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Critical Dementia Skill #2 Understanding Ambiguous Loss

Written by M. Estrade on 13th April 2020 Blog

This is the second installment in the Critical Dementia Skills (CDS) series. For more information on the series, start HERE. You can also click on the CDS tags in the blog for more. If you, like so many dementia care partners, have thought that you are grieving the loss of a spouse, parent, or friend even though they are still alive, there is a good chance that you are experiencing ‘ambiguous loss.” While this is feeling is not a litmus test as to if you have it,

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Critical Dementia Skill #1 Finding Meaning in Dementia

Written by M. Estrade on 6th April 2020 Blog

This is the first installment in the Critical Dementia Skills (CDS) series. For more information on the series, start HERE. You can also click on the CDS tags in the blog for more. Could we have started the Critical Dementia Skills (CDS) Series with a larger topic? People have pondered the meaning of life for thousands and thousands of years. They’ve also thought about the meaning of suffering for that long. Certainly, people have wondered about the meaning of dementia since it has become a phenomenon in society.

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Critical Dementia Skills (CDS) Series

Written by M. Estrade on 6th April 2020 Blog

Today starts a series of education that we will be rolling out each week. There are two types of education that will cover close to 40 topics over time. The first type of education includes foundational or core concepts, such as finding meaning or ambiguous loss in care partnering, that will benefit (almost) all care partners on their journey. The second type of education in the series will be practical or “hands-on.”  Examples of this type of education are bathing tips and advocating for a loved one residing in a senior care facility.

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