Rewiring My Brain and Stepping into Alzheimer's World

Once you start to understand how things work in Alzheimer's World you get calm and comfortable. Once you get calm and comfortable you give off a better "vibe" to someone that has Alzheimer's.

By +Bob DeMarco 
+Alzheimer's Reading Room 

I would find a new way to communicate with my mother who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

I wrote that on my da Vinci pad in 2004. This was at the same time I was coming to another conclusion, something had to change and that something was me.

I did not perceived the changes in communication as being difficult. After all, I had been studying communication and decision making all the way back to college days, and ever since. I figured some practice and I would get the hang of it.

What I did not immediately perceive was how difficult it would be to change all the things I had learned over the course of my life.

For example, I had to learn how NOT to feel bad when my mother said something mean spirited to me.

Dementia Awareness Week 2013 Ruth Jones

Dementia Awareness Week is 19-25 May 2013. The theme for this year's campaign is talking.

+Alzheimer's Reading Room

Worrying changes nothing. Talking changes everything. Ruth Jones tells us why she thinks it's important to talk about Dementia Awareness Week.

We're all living longer. That means we're all facing a higher risk of one day developing dementia. It may be you. Or it may be someone in your family.

But what can you do about it? How do you recognise the signs? And how will you cope if you or someone you love develops dementia? One thing's certain. The more we know about dementia, the more prepared we'll be to face it.

Dementia Awareness Week is 19-25 May 2013. The theme for this year's campaign is talking, and there will be activities and events across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Study Examines Cognitive Impairment in Families With Exceptional Longevity

By +Bob DeMarco
+Alzheimer's Reading Room 

This study caught my attention because there is exceptional longevity on my mother's side of the family.

The finding here indicates that dementia is delayed in members of long lived families, but exceptional longevity does not provide aditional protection later in life.

Enriching the Lives of People Who Have Alzheimer’s – 15 Minutes of Fame

“This improves daily mood, energy and hope for you and the one you care for ... turn a stressful or ordinary day into an extraordinary one, sparking creativity and gratitude on this path of caregiving.”

By Marie Martley
+Alzheimer's Reading Room 

Tryn Rose Seley’s book, 15 Minutes of Fame, is a gold mine for caregivers of people with dementia.

This brief and concise 35-page book has the subtitle One Photo Does Wonders to Bring You Both Back to Solid Ground.

It is full of positive, practical and uplifting advice for enriching the lives of people with Alzheimer’s.

It is beautifully illustrated, contains numerous lovely photos and has relevant quotes from Mother Teresa, Helen Keller and other inspirational figures.

The book’s focus is “Empowering Caregivers of Those With Alzheimer’s.”