Communicating with your loved one with Alzheimer’s or Dementia Thursday, March 4 @ 3pm

· Are you looking for ways to rekindle your loved one’s personality?
· Do you cut short your visits when you don’t feel you’re engaging with your loved one?
· Are you feeling as if your visits aren’t meaningful anymore?
· Are you unsure how to handle your loved one’s anger and anxiety when it’s vocalized?

These are just a few of the scenarios Pam Ostrowski, author of It’s Not That Simple: Helping Families Navigate the Alzheimer’s Journey, will cover in her presentation. Pam will provide tips and give you real-life wording examples that will enhance your skills when communicating with your loved one. These include how to determine what types of communications work for your loved one in specific situations and how those change from day-to-day and month-to-month.

Book Excerpt:
One day, Dad was having a really bad day because the caregivers hadn’t arrived at exactly 9 a.m. to give Mom her medications. He was yelling at the caregivers when I walked in. I asked that they give us some time alone.

Then I sat with him and asked, “What’s going on?” He used the, “This place doesn’t know what they’re doing,” response. My dad lived on structure his whole life and as a World War II veteran, knew that structure could save your life. So I pressed him a little more and asked, “What’s really going on?” He replied in anger and frustration, “You just don’t understand. This is not how it was supposed to be. SHE was supposed to take care of ME!” He was sad, angry, frustrated, and scared all at the same time. All I could say was, “I know. This has to be very hard on you. But everyone here is doing the best that they can and that’s the most we can ask.” He just shook his head.

Book Excerpt:
There have been days when I sat with Mom and I wasn’t sure she knew who I was. There was no spark or connection. Worse, the caregivers sometimes received a warmer reception than I did. This behavior was not my mother’s choice. It’s who she was on that day. The next time I visited, she hugged me, patted me, and said my name. You just never know what to expect. And yes, that is very, very hard to deal with, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Author of It’s Not That Simple – Helping Families Navigate the Alzheimer’s Journey Buy the book on Amazon here!