September 2018 Newsletter for Caregivers

Welcome to the September newsletter!

Alzheimer's stages: How the disease progresses

Alzheimer's disease tends to develops slowly and gradually worsens over several years. Eventually, Alzheimer's disease affects most areas of your brain. Memory, thinking, judgment, language, problem-solving, personality and movement can all be affected by the disease.

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Researchers study alcohol's link to Alzheimer's

Nearly one century after Alzheimer's disease (AD) was discovered, doctors are still searching for its causes. Age is certainly a factor: Alzheimer's usually develops in people over age 60, and about half of people over 85 may have it. Family history also plays a role.

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Dehydration and Malnutrition in Alzheimer's Disease

Occasionally you read about people with dementia who have died from malnutrition or dehydration, even when being cared for in a nursing home, hospital, or by caregivers. You cannot believe that such a situation has occurred, that it must be an obvious case of abuse.

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Validation Therapy for Dementia

Developed in the 1960s and 1970s by Naomi Feil, validation therapy for dementia offers holistic therapy that empathizes with elderly patients by helping to connect with them through listening and dignified care in their final stages of life. With a little patience and observation, validation therapy also offers a glimpse into the human brain, stages of dementia, and the desire for peace before death.

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Validation Therapy, Redirection

If you have a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia, then you know how difficult it can be to communicate with him or her. Maybe there are good or bad days. Maybe there are certain times of the day that are better or worse. The following are techniques that can be used improve communication with the person you love.

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Link to CEU Quiz

August 2018 Newsletter for Caregivers

Welcome to the August newsletter!

3 simple ways to manage challenging behaviors associated with dementia

Dementia can be a devastating diagnosis. The characteristic problems with memory, thinking, language and judgment are a challenge, but there are also “behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia” (BPSD), including agitation, aggression, wandering, resistance to care, delusions, hallucinations and repetitive speech. These symptoms can be very upsetting for people with dementia as well as their loved ones, and are often the reason people are admitted to long-term care (1).

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About Delirium

Delirium is a serious disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of the environment. The start of delirium is usually rapid — within hours or a few days.

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Hallucinations and Delusions Associated with Dementia

Dementia can affect how an individual perceives the world. A person with dementia may think that she can see or hear something that isn’t there or believe something that is not true. In earlier stages of the disease, she will usually be able to recognize that this is simply a figment of her imagination. However, as the disease progresses, these individuals may begin to have more and more trouble distinguishing between fantasy and reality.

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Hallucinations, Delusions and Paranoia Related to Dementia

According to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, the major psychiatric symptoms of middle stage Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia include hallucinations, delusions and paranoia. About 40 percent of dementia patients experience delusions, while hallucinations occur in about 25 percent of cases. When a senior is experiencing hallucinations and delusions, their caregiver often wants to help them understand that these beliefs and experiences are not real.

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Link to CEU Quiz

June 2018 Newsletter for Caregivers

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Caregiver’s Newsletter! Many of you have asked us for more information about the caregiving profession and we are now pleased to provide this to you each month.

At the end of this newsletter you will find a link to a short quiz, composed of several questions about the content. These are designed to provide a convenient way for you to earn a valuable CE Credit (continuing education) that you will need for your annual renewal.

Thank you for the work you do in eldercare. This precious group of Americans rely on you to be their eyes and ears on the world. Thank you for seeing the people they are and valuing their lives each and every day!

NCBAC Management Team

Family Caregivers Finally Get A Break — And Some Coaching

For today, there are no doctor's visits. No long afternoons with nothing to do. No struggles over bathing.

At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., a group of older adults — some in wheelchairs, some with Alzheimer's — sit with their caregivers in a semicircle around a haunting portrait of a woman in white.

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Our New Online Portal

You can now view and make changes to the contact information we have on file for you, and you can also view your current certification expiration date, and any CEU credits you have earned through our newsletters. Watch this video for a quick demo of all of the features.

All new and current CAC™ and CAEd™ can request access to the portal before your renewal date if you'd like access ASAP. Just send us an email through the website's contact us page.

Being a Healthy Caregiver

As a caregiver, you may find yourself with so many responsibilities that you neglect taking good care of yourself. But the best thing you can do for the person you are caring for is stay physically and emotionally strong.

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The Invisible Profession: Caregiving And The Future Of Work

Today’s American families need more caregiving support than ever before - yet caregiving work is not visible, not valued, and not supported well enough to meet the soaring demand. Social entrepreneurs Ai-jen Poo, who leads National Domestic Workers Alliance and  Caring Across Generations, and Jessica Sager, co-founder of All Our Kin, are working to radically reframe this issue and chart a new and sustainable course. Ashoka’s Brittany Koteles caught up with them to learn more. 

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America faces a shortage of caregivers

There is a lot of discussion today about our divided nation. Extreme partisanship, economic inequality, racism, the urban/rural schism, gender conflict – take your pick of topics. But the aging American population holds the potential to unite many of us. Regardless of our differences, people we care about may soon need our help. And we aren’t ready to help them.

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My Vexing/ Gratifying 7 Years Of Caregiving

On April 26, while lying motionless in her nursing home bed with closed eyelids and a gaping mouth, my 86-year-old mother took two last short breaths before peacefully going still. Her death from complications of dementia and kidney failure brought to a close a nearly 7-year, sometimes rancorous period of family caregiving after my wife and I moved her up from Florida to live near us. We then gradually took over every aspect of her life.

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Link to CEU Quiz