dementia Archives - Aging, caregiving and the journey through the second half of life

Dancing with Dementia

September 19, 2019

Dementia recasts the memory landscape with people and events that never existed. We are both shocked and intrigued by what our aging parents are saying. Where did that come from we ask ourselves. And then there is the nagging question…

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…

What We Live For…

August 7, 2016

There are many ways to dance with an aging parent who has dementia. Toni Luciani invited his 91 year old mother to join him using photography and the canvas of her aging to create art. The photographic results in the…

Failing In Place

July 23, 2016

New arrivals to our caregiver support group confirm what’s being reported in the medical literature. Dementia in the land of aging parents has reached a tipping point and now become the overwhelming concern of 80-90% of our attendees. The vast…

Anything But Dementia

October 23, 2015

The question “What Genuinely Terrifies You?” was posed on Reddit and the overwhelming consensus was not war, cancer or being destitute. It was dementia. One responder who goes by the name of Poem_for_you Sprog commented in verse, a sentiment that…

Art Therapy and Alzheimer’s Disease

October 3, 2015

Yes, there is loss, painful, progressive loss. But what remains in Alzheimer’s disease? That is the critical question that this blog post explores. In this case, art turns out to be the residual miracle… An Unexpected Legacy: Art Therapy Breakthroughs…

Are We More Than Our Memories?

October 1, 2015

This fascinating article from Scientific American reveals new research that argues “morals, not memories, define who we are.” The study has implications for patients with Alzheimer’s and other disorders… Morals, Not Memories, Define Who We Are…

Caregivers of Spouses with Dementia

August 31, 2015

The Psychological and Health Consequences of Caring for a Spouse With Dementia: A Critical Comparison of Husbands and Wives This study compares outcomes, based on gender, of caregivers of at home spouses with dementia. It also looks at how the…