Alzheimer's and Dementia

Socialization and relationships are important for our mental health, and it's a core part of memory care at senior living communities. Mom or dad wants to be with peers as well as with family. Home care agencies are available to come in and provide assistance to seniors with activities of daily living. Tracy Helling at CarePartners Living joins Suzanne to talk about these factors for those with dementia and Alzheimer's.

Tracy Helling at CarePartners Living joins Suzanne to talk about memory care. CarePartners has senior living communities in Washington and Arizona. She talks about the warning signs of dementia, comparing them with natural signs of aging.

Give yourself some grace and work on self-care to lessen burnout during the overwhelming experience of family caregiving. Dr. Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about recognizing the symptoms of burnout. Burnout will lead you to have a short fuse, the last thing you need while caregiving. Take time and step back, find ways to de-stress, and have someone you can vent to.

Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour to talk about the listening and non-verbal side of communicating better. Her advice: actually listen, don't pretend to listen. Get over repetition. Don't interrupt. Ask the right questions. Take inventory of your own weaknesses. Practice listening. Resist the impulse to correct errors. And don't let yourself get offended.

Environment plays a major role in daily success of those who are cognitively impaired, especially as symptoms progress. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour to talk about ways of adjusting the home environment to improve their quality of life.

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour. This segment provides an overview of mental impairments, including dementia. 12-18% of those over 60 years old have at least some mild cognitive disorder, and that is expected to grow by 20% by the year 2040. 80% of seniors in senior living communities have some kind of impairment. Most people want to age in place, particularly after Covid, and people are feeling ill-equipped when it comes to caregiving. People are looking for ways to help mom or dad, to improve their quality of life.

Alzheimer's and dementia expert Forrest Stepnowski joins Suzanne to talk about dementia, particularly when someone with dementia has gone through a traumatic event. Forrest is CarePartners Living's Executive Director of The Cottages at Renton, in Seattle.

Alzheimer's and dementia expert Forrest Stepnowski joins Suzanne to talk about learning to communicate better with those who have dementia. Forrest is CarePartners Living's Executive Director of The Cottages at Renton, in Seattle.

Allyson Schrier, founder and CEO of Zinnia TV, joins Suzanne to talk about Teepa Snow's four ideals for making the environment a safer place for those with Alzheimer's and dementia. Teepa says an environment should be Friendly, Familiar, Functional, and Forgiving. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Allyson Schrier, founder and CEO of Zinnia TV, joins Suzanne to talk about how those with dementia and Alzheimer's are affected by different colors in their environment. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.