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Critical Dementia Skill #14 Modifying Environment

Written by M. Estrade on 14th July 2020 Blog

This is the 14th 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. Just as we must change our attitudes to accommodate persons living with dementia, there are elements of the environment that we must change to keep our loved ones functioning as independently as possible. While safety is a paramount consideration, it’s important to understand that no environment is completely safe.

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Critical Dementia Skill #15 Establishing a Routine

Written by M. Estrade on 21st July 2020 Blog

This is the 15th 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. **Join us live for the July 25, 2020 Live Rosary and Dementia Q&A with Care Partner Matt Dineen. Matt will talk about his role as Lisa’s care partner and as a dementia advocate in Canada. 9am CDT/10am EDT at https://www.facebook.com/DementiaRosary.com ** Many websites,

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Critical Dementia Skill #17 Getting Some Sleep

Written by M. Estrade on 11th August 2020 Blog

This is the 17th 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 are living with dementia, how are you sleeping? If you are a care partner, how about you? Many of us experience sleep disturbances due to the dementia condition, as well as stress and anxiety of care partnering.  Many care partners tell me about not sleeping well for fear that their spouse or parent is going to pace inside the home all night,

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Critical Dementia Skill #18 Learning Your ABCs

Written by M. Estrade on 18th August 2020 Blog

This is the 18th 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. Sometimes in the course of dementia, your loved one may exhibit “behavioral expressions.”  These used to be called “problem behaviors” and they were named, I suspect, not because it offended anyone (although it could), but because “expression” is a more accurate way of looking at our loved one.

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Critical Dementia Skills #19 Engaging Your Loved One in Activities

Written by M. Estrade on 1st September 2020 Blog

This is the 19th 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. On this journey with dementia, creativity and fun is something that you may not think of, yet it is a key to filling this journey with life. Geriatrician William Thomas wrote about the “plagues of institutionalism: helplessness, boredom, and loneliness” in his book “A Life Worth Living: How Someone You Love Can Still Enjoy Life in a Nursing Home-The Eden Alternative in Action.”

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Review of the V.LRT Wireless Emergency Alert Device

Written by M. Estrade on 19th January 2021 Blog

You may have heard of Philips’ Lifeline alerts, whereby someone who falls can press an alert button and 911 and others may be dispatched. This article is the review of an alternative, but not a side by side comparison. I will say that Philips’ Lifeline has been on the market since 2004 and has a range of features and monthly fees from which to choose. The alternative being reviewed is the V.LERT for $30 (on Amazon) and no monthly fees.

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