Blog

Emerging research has shown a deep connection with brain health and strength training exercise. What is brain health? It is more than just memory and forgetting as you age. According to the World Health Organization, brain health is a multidimensional concept which includes cognitive, emotional, and functional abilities. More than 16 million Americans are currently living with some form of cognitive impairment and the scale is continuing to grow. The CDC suggests that up to 4

Participating in holiday gatherings can often be a source of stress for many individuals, and this stress can be significantly heightened when caring for someone with dementia. As the holiday season approaches, it is beneficial to consider practical strategies that can help make these occasions more manageable and enjoyable for everyone involved. Adjusting Expectations Set Realistic Goals: Communicate clearly about what can and cannot be accomplished during the festivities. I

Communicating with a person diagnosed with dementia can be challenging and the way you communicate with them will need to change as they progress through the disease. In the early stages of dementia, a person can usually still participate in meaningful conversation but may experience some difficulty in articulating certain words. They also can participate in brief social interactions but may struggle in prolonged social settings. You may find that the longer the conversat

What is dementia? Dementia is an overarching term to describe a progressive disease that affects ones overall cognitive function, especially in the area of memory loss. Currently there are over 170 irreversible dementias, with the most common ones being Alzheimer’s, Vascular, Lewy Body, and Frontotemporal. Each of these have specific characteristics that differentiate one from another, with some aspects that are common in each. There are some types of dementia that are tr

Having just come through the Thanksgiving holiday the song “Count your Blessings” was probably a song you heard during that time at some point. Did you know that this song was written in 1897 by Rev. Johnson Oatman, Jr., what most people do not know is that Rev. Oatman wrote the text to over 5,000 other hymns but this is by far his most well-known song. It is unfortunate that most only think of this song during Thanksgiving. The message of this hymn is for every day of the

Many questions can arise when an individual is nearing the end of life. At times, some of these questions can be faced by that person and their loved ones together, but often, the person that has power of attorney for healthcare must face these questions alone, as the dying person is no longer able to express their desires. If you have been given power of attorney over a loved one’s healthcare, investing the time to discuss their philosophy toward end-of-life decisions, and

In our last post we reviewed some of the things you should do after first hearing the diagnosis of dementia. In this post we will look at some additional items you should consider doing while your parent or spouse are still early in their diagnosis. Accept the diagnosis and understand what it means What type of dementia does the physician believe they have – Sometimes this is not yet known at the beginning but learn what you can. Can the physician determine what stage they