SLP Helps Grandmother With Alzheimer ’ s and Uses Lessons Learned With Clients

“Are you on your lunch break from work?” I didn’t want to hear this unrelated question in response to calling my grandmother from Italy to tell her I just got engaged. But my grandmother has Alzheimer’s disease so that’s what happened. My grandmother—affectionately referred to as “Grammy” by our family—used to serve as my extended family’s matriarch. An independent woman much of her life, Grammy lived with my aunt to help her raise my cousins. While I was in college, however, my family started noticing little moments of forgetfulness or confusion. She would occasionally get disoriented, and her stories became repetitive. Once I remember going to my aunt’s house and seeing her mix up the bread and milk when putting them away after making me French toast. As time passed, these moments became more and more frequent. Eventually she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. For such a strong woman and our family’s matriarch, this blow devastated all of us. Small steps When I learned of Grammy’s diagnosis, I worked in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) as a new speech-language pathologist. Although my education and training gave me knowledge about her disease, I felt ignored when I offered my family information. I clearly remember pacing in my bedroom and crying on the phone with my mom. I wanted to help—and had the ability to do so—but no one would listen . My mom told me to take a deep breath and start by doing something sma...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Health Care Private Practice Slider Speech-Language Pathology Cognitive Rehabilitation dementia Source Type: blogs