JOAN’S BLOG- WED/THUR, MAY 20/21, 2009 – IMPORTANT NEW CAREGIVER RESOURCES AND INFORMATION

I have two new exciting caregiver resources to share with you. If I had not been 15 pages behind in my e-mails, I would have introduced the first one 6 months ago, but alas, it was lost on page 14. I was particularly intrigued by the Wellness Wizard because of its value to caregivers of EARLY STAGE loved one’s with dementia. So many of our younger members must work full time outside of the home  (Men and women) as sole support of their families. Although their spouses may still be capable of staying home alone, our members worry about them all day long. This new device serves two valuable functions – it records reminder messages to your spouse at home, but it also alerts family members if the person with AD has not responded to the message, thus allowing you to send help immediately to check on them. The Wellness Wizard allows you or any family member to record any reminder messages ( time for your pills; time to make lunch; just a loving check-in to say hello), and program it to record different messages at different times of the day. The message will continue to play until your loved one hits the flashing button to shut it off. IF THE BUTTON IS NOT SHUT OFF WITHIN A DESIGNATED TIME FRAME, THE WELLNESS WIZARD AUTOMATICALLY CALLS FAMILY MEMBERS WHOSE NUMBER YOU HAVE PRE-PROGRAMMED TO ALERT THEM THAT YOUR LOVED ONE NEEDS TO BE CHECKED ON.

Perhaps your spouse does not want to hear you remind them of anything. Perhaps they are somewhat oppositional towards you; angry with you. (I surely am familiar with that situation.) The voice of someone to whom they respond better is an option. Children and grandchildren reminding the AD person that they love them, and want them to take their pills or eat lunch is a good option.

This obviously is NOT an aide for those in later stages of dementia. It is designed for those in early stages with memory loss, but are otherwise functioning well enough to stay home alone. It is ideal for my husband, if I happen to be away for the day.  For more information, click on the picture of the Wellness Wizard in the section on the left.

The second resource is available free for a limited time only. It is a Dementia Care Training Program recommended and presented by the Alzheimer’s Association. Although it is specifically directed at professionals, those of us “non-professional” caregivers can benefit tremendously from its lessons. The first part of the training directs facility personnel in empathetic caring of the dementia patient – in remembering that they were once vital, intelligent human beings with lives and families. We do not need such reminders, but that section is worth watching in order to educate ourselves in what to look for in a competent caregiver. There are 10 lessons, or “modules” as they are called. Considering how busy we are, we will most likely need to watch one or two, and go back later to watch the others when we have time. The lesson topics are:

Meet Clara Jones
Introduction to Dementia
Understanding Resident Behavior as Communicating
The CARES Approach
Making a Connection with the Resident
Eating Well
Recognizing Pain
Minimizing Falls
Rethinking Wandering
Restraints

I cannot emphasize enough how valuable I think these lessons will be for our own knowledge of caring for our loved one, but also for being armed with knowledge when assessing professional caregivers with whom you entrust your loved one. This program is available free through June 15th, and can be accessed by the information below:

Free Access to the CARES ProgramT in May/June 2009

What: Free 1 month access to the NEW 10-module CARES Online Dementia Care
Training Program (A graphic of the main menu appears below.)

How: Just go to http://hci.blueearth.net/hci/site/21 and enter your first
and last name and the

Keycode: ACH914
When: May 15th - June 15th
Cost: $0

And finally, come say hello to me at the Alzheimer’s Community Care 2009 Educational Caregivers Conference on May 28th and 29th at the Palm Beach Convention Center, West Palm Beach, Florida. Two full days of caregiving workshops, guest speakers, including Deidre Hall from Days of Our Lives, who is a national spokesperson for Alzheimer’s Disease – hear her speak about the effects Alzheimer’s Disease has had on her family; Dr. Teena Cahill, whose humorous, inspirational speeches on positive caregiving always rock the house; and Dr. Richard Powers, MD, geriatric psychiatrist and neuropathologist.  I will not be speaking this year, but will be hosting Dr. Cahill’s booth, where I will be available to meet and talk with you.

MESSAGE BOARD: New Resources for Caregivers/Meeting Joan

Feedback to joan@thealzheimerspouse.com

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