Imaging technologies like the fMRI, the EEG, SPECT scan, and the CT PET scan allow us to watch electrical activity and blood flow in the brain as it responds to different stimuli and situations. One thing we are learning is there is a special connection between music and the brain.
At a conference we attended recently we were able to spend some face time with Cindy and Darryl, creators of Serenity Babies. We had a really nice visit, as it has been a couple of years since we last saw them. They shared some tips for using dolls as therapy.
A recent study found that certain lifestyle factors reduce the amount of amyloid plaque and fibrillary tangles in the brain. These plaques and tangles are always present in the Alzheimer’s affected brain. Diet & exercise.
Several clothing manufacturers, including Tommy Hilfiger, are developing clothing designed to make it easier for people with a variety of disabilities to dress themselves, and help care providers to more easily and more effectively do their job.
Our sense organs are an extension of our brain. It is through these specialized organs that we get information about our surroundings and about ourselves. But Alzheimer’s affects perception in a way that makes understanding the world difficult.
The words we use do, to a great extent, influence the way we think, and the way we think, in turn, affects our actions.
Communicating with Alzheimer’s is difficult, but don’t stop trying. Even more frustrating for the person with Alzheimer’s than the difficulty he is experiencing making his thoughts known to you is the thought that you have given up trying, or don’t want to communicate with him.
A couple of us from Best Alzheimer’s Products attended the The 2013 National Adult Day Services Conference in Louisville, KY. I attended Person-Centered Approaches to Challenging Behaviors, given by Beth Meyer-Arnold and Lyn Geboy. Person centered care is something we have always advocated, but I was still able to learn a lot about creating an environment that is truly person centered.
improving the quality of life for those living with the disease and their families. This means a coordinated strategy that values, supports and encourages non-drug approaches and subsequent research with the same devotion as drug research,” Angela Lunde, Mayo Clinic health education outreach coordinator, says in her Alzheimer’s blog.
Hogewey, located in the Netherlands, is the only care facility of it’s kind in the world and is home to over 150 people with severe dementia. Started by 2 nurses who feared having to put their own parents in a traditional nursing home, ‘Dementia Village’ is a place where residents live a seemingly normal life, but are actually being watched by caregivers at all times. Residents are free to roam around, visiting shops, getting their hair done or being active in one of the 25 clubs available at Hogewey.
Purple Angel Ambassador
Dementia Friendly America
