CDS

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.”

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.

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,

Critical Dementia Skill #16 Discovering What Matters

Written by M. Estrade on 28th July 2020 Blog

This is the 16th 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. In CDS #9, we discussed making your healthcare wishes know as it relates to a healthcare proxy and living will at the end of life. In this article, we will step back a bit and discuss what matters overall in life that will influence end of life care wishes,

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.

Critical Dementia Skill #13 Advocating

Written by M. Estrade on 30th June 2020 Blog

This is the 13th 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. It is essential that you be able to stick up for yourself and your loved ones, which brings us to the topic of advocating. Advocating can mean different things to different people in the area of dementia. It could mean advocating for rights for persons living with dementia,

Critical Dementia Skill #12 Organizing Life

Written by M. Estrade on 23rd June 2020 Blog

This is the 12th 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 think life is complicated, care partners know how much more complicated that things can get when a loved one has dementia. Care partnering can become a full-time job. Here is a sample of the things that could make the care partner journey easier if more organized: Medical –

Critical Dementia Skill #11 Forgiving Yourself and Others

Written by M. Estrade on 16th June 2020 Blog

This is the 11th 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. Over the years, I’ve met many care partners who hold a grudge against themselves or others, including family members, or even the person living with dementia. Usually, the best thing, depending on the person, is to listen and recognize what is happening. There are people who violate our trust or let us down;

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,

Critical Dementia Skill #9 Discussing Healthcare Wishes

Written by M. Estrade on 2nd June 2020 Blog

This is the ninth 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. I know very few people who are comfortable discussing this particular blog topic of healthcare decisions. After all, it does involve thinking about the end of our lives, and when we cannot speak for ourselves in that moment. Yet, it is a challenge to find many more important talks to have in one’s life.

A Ministry Aging and Cognitive Impairment

A Ministry
Aging and Cognitive Impairment