Dementia & Alzheimer's Disease
Modify Environment | Go Along | Use Distraction | Challenging Behavior | Plan Activities | Communicate with Respect | Share Joys | Eat Well | Check the Locks | Safe Return | Quiet Evenings

Identify the underlying need behind challenging behaviors.

A Simple Solution: Read Barbara's story about how she figured out what was really bothering her husband.

Can't figure out why your mother keeps going to the bathroom?

Get her a check-up with her doctor. Perhaps she has a urinary tract infection and needs antibiotics.

Links to other sites with information on this topic:

Practical tips for Alzheimer's caregivers (The Mayo Clinic)

The 36-hour day: a family guide to caring for persons with Alzheimer disease, related dementing illnesses, and memory loss in later life, by Nancy L. Mace, Peter V. Rabins (2001). Warner Books; Revised edition.
This book focuses on helping families cope with this progressive and irreversible disease. Besides tips on how to care for the demented during the various stages of the disease (for example, place a picture of a toilet on the bathroom door), the text discusses the different kinds of help available and how to seek it.