Dementia

Dementia: It’s Painful When Words Fail Me

Words aren’t friends for George any more. He used to give lectures, make high-level phone calls, and joke with co-workers in his job as president of a company. Now words swirl in his head, and he can seldom catch the right one. His tongue stumbles and his brow furrows as he tries to tell me […]

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Confessions About the Remarkable World of Dementia

Dementia. Memory loss. Alzheimer’s disease. Confusion. Cognitive impairment. Neurocognitive disorder. What does it all mean? Are these all words used to describe one condition, or are they different? Does everyone with dementia (or whatever term you use) act the same? What can I expect? When a person is diagnosed with dementia or any other term

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When Alzheimer’s Comes Too Early

Dr. Alice Howland is a renowned linguistics professor, a mother of three grown children, a wife to a loving husband. She was living the dream when her life began to crumble. She forgot a word in a lecture, then got lost on a jog in her neighbourhood. In Still Alice,  Julienne Moore passionately portrays the

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After a Diagnosis of Dementia

There are points in life when everything changes. Milestones where you can look back and say, “Here is when life was never the same again.” A diagnosis of dementia can be like that. Probably there were months and even years leading up to that moment when you wondered, suspected or even knew, but it wasn’t

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How to Focus Your “Dementia-speak” and Produce Joy

Imagine you are 10 years old. Do you remember the house you lived in at that time? What did it look like? What did your mom and dad like to wear? Did your mom wear an apron and make your favourite foods? Was your dad busy at work all day, and did the family eat

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How To Make Your Approach Diffuse Anger

Imagine you’re snuggled in bed having a great sleep, and at about 7:00 a.m., a stranger walks in your bedroom, turns on the light, and begins rifling through your clothes. As you cower under the sheets, she grabs the covers out of your hand, ripping them off you, and starts to perform some extremely personal

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