Caregiver Lessons Archives - Page 5 of 15 - Aging, caregiving and the journey through the second half of life

A New Set Design for Nursing Homes

January 22, 2017

This is a fascinating innovation in the physical design of a nursing home. Forget the clinical model of mini-hospitals and consider bringing the outside inside with a neighborhood look and feel. How comforting to have a front porch with your…

Online College Course: Communication Skills with Seniors

December 26, 2016

I have joined the faculty of Saint Joseph’s College of Maine to offer a new online course entitled Communication Skills with Seniors (Sl 320). Here is the course overview: The purpose of this course is to assist you in developing…

Geriatric Depression Scale

December 15, 2016

Despite how older adults are depicted in the popular media, depression is not a natural part of aging. As important, with proper recognition and treatment depression can be reversible. That’s the good news. The bad news is that left left…

The Ceremony of the Shoes

December 13, 2016

Embedded in the living towards the end lies a narrative about love under fatal duress. It is a space that refines courage and fosters an unexpected elegance. Frannie Lindsay’s poem below is about how this elegance, born of love and…

Aging Parents Dance Cards 17-20

December 5, 2016

Below are the titles and graphics for Aging Parents Dance Cards 17-20. Whether heading to their home, the hospital or the telephone, Aging Parents Dance Cards offer adult children access to good caregiving ideas when they’re needed most. Sets of…

Aging Parents Dance Cards

December 2, 2016

Introducing “Aging Parents Dance Cards,” which were created for adult children of aging parents. The photos below are from the front and back side of one of the cards in the twenty-card set entitled “Reset Expectations.” Each card offers a…

The Dementia Game Is About You

November 18, 2016

This intriguing game based on navigation and memory skills is part of a massive study on dementia. The study’s goal is to create a baseline for the “normal” decline of navigation and memory skills with aging to serve as a…

The Heart of Caregiver’s Resilience

October 31, 2016

Caregiver’s resilience is a mind set that guides action, an oath to meet failure and keep going, to rise above the unfairness of it all. The last stanza of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “A Psalm of Life” is an anthem…

The Secrets of Aging Parents

October 8, 2016

Adult children are frustrated by their aging parent’s unwillingness to share important information about their plans, health or finances. The withholding weakens the caregiving partnership and sets everyone up for poor outcomes. So why are they so secretive at the…

We All Else Fails, Ride Motorcycles…

September 15, 2016

I have shared this deeply moving, three minute video with audiences throughout the United States and Canada. No matter how many times I’ve watched it, I am always inspired by the love and courage of these older adults who insisted…