Follow Us:



Care Partner

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.”

Read More

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.

Read More

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,

Read More

Critical Dementia Skill #10 Seeking Self-Care

Written by M. Estrade on 9th June 2020 Blog

This is the 10th 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 have flown on a commercial airplane before AND paid attention to the safety briefing by the flight attendant, you will recall from the instructions that oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling in the event of a sudden drop in cabin pressure when flying 14,000 feet or above (OK,

Read More

Critical Dementia Skill #8 Shifting Roles We’ve Always Known

Written by M. Estrade on 26th May 2020 Blog

This is the eighth 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 condition that isolates many care partners in ways that go unnoticed by those not in that position. An example of this the loss of making decisions together with the person living with dementia, causing a shift in roles. Think about all of the decisions that a married couple makes,

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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,

Read More