Can People With Alzheimer’ Experience Joy? Let Me Count the Ways

This article is longer than those I usually post so it is being broken down into two parts. If you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, please try to read it all. It could lead to a significant improvement in your ability to engage and connect with your loved one. According to Virginia Bell and David Troxel, writing in The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer’s Care, “Too much attention has been paid to the ‘tragic side’ of Alzheimer’s disease. This is a terrible disease. Yet, by dwelling on the negative it is too easy to victimize people with the illness and settle for lower standards of care.” I recently interviewed Teepa Snow, nationally renowned expert on Alzheimer’s caregiving. When I asked if she thought people with Alzheimer’s can still enjoy life, she answered, “Yes. Almost all people with dementia, even those in the later stages of the disease, can enjoy life if they have the right support and environment.” The entire book, Creating Moments of Joy: A Journal for Caregivers, by Jolene Brackey, is dedicated to this issue. She writes, “We are not able to create a perfectly wonderful day with [people who have Alzheimer’s], but it is absolutely attainable to create perfectly wonderful moments – moments that put smiles on their faces, a twinkle in their eyes, or trigger [pleasant] memories.” Carole Larkin, owner of Third Age Services in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, is a geriatric care manager who specializes in helping families with dem...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Dementia Authors: Source Type: blogs