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Sound Culture University 2020

Call for Applications Sound Culture University 2020

Sounds of Life invites you to attend the Sound Culture University from June 10-20, 2020 in Kingston, Jamaica. At the Sound Culture University, music is life. We highlight the dynamic nature of sound and music in our lives and use the knowledge gained to design applications across a wide range of disciplines and practices.

The SCU is facilitated…

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#africa #alzhemiers #art #caribbean #dj afifa #health #jamaica #latin america #memory #memory loss #research #sound culture university #university

Diagnostic Imaging Services shares a news report on researchers searching for "fresh ideas" in the journey toward promising Alzheimer's disease treatments.

https://goo.gl/sRS1sq

#dis #disnola #diagnostic imaging services #alzhemiers #dementia

Helllll yea! I got #employeeofthemonth ! I never ever got it at #hannaford. I am so glad I am valued here! #leominstercrossings #benchmark #server #serverlife #waitresslife #waitress #leominster #work #gotheextramile #model #recognition #valued #lovemyjob #alzhemiers #seniorliving (at Benchmark Senior Living at Leominster Crossings)

#valued #waitresslife #alzhemiers #leominster #employeeofthemonth #serverlife #work #leominstercrossings #server #hannaford #gotheextramile #recognition #lovemyjob #benchmark #model #seniorliving #waitress

Changing my Expectations

Sleep, or the lack of it - is it a culprit or a scapegoat? Laura is tired all the time and she wears that exhaustion like a heavy blanket on her shoulders. It affects everything that she does, and even who she is. Think about it, even without the confusion created by Alzheimer’s, being exhausted can disrupt cognitive powers and have serious consequences.

There is no denying it; Laura is tired all the time. Her brain is working nonstop to make order out of chaos and at the same time fighting a losing battle in trying to repair itself. This affects everything from her attention span to logical thinking to her reflexes and motor coordination. Nothing is spared. When she is having difficulty completing a task Laura usually sums up all the blame in one pat answer: “I’m so tired – I didn’t sleep!”

The other day, Laura had been trying unsuccessfully for several minutes to get a bracelet off her wrist that she had been wearing all day. I asked if I could help, but she gave me a big emphatic “NO – I can get this!” so I stayed in the background. I watched as she tried pulling it over her hand, opening the clasp, even pushing on the clasp, all to no avail. It wasn’t making any sense to her – she knew she got it on but now she couldn’t figure out how to get it off. In frustration she finally pleaded, “I’m so tired, can you just take this off?”

To help shore up her self-confidence I made some sort of comment about the size of the clasp making it more difficult but I don’t think she even heard me. She was just glad to be done with it. “I’m just not sleeping – I’m just not sleeping!” she told me as much as herself.

The truth is she does sleep a good deal. The lack of sleep is not the culprit but does make a feasible excuse. She equates the feeling of being tired with not sleeping. That certainly makes sense, but it’s not the reason. In the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s her sleep patterns were disrupted and she was tossing and turning all night kind of like a fish on a rock. But after we got the diagnosis and were able to treat some of her other symptoms, we were able to get a better sleep pattern established.

The problem now is not so much sleep related, but trying to keep her calm and helping her cope throughout the day. It’s breaking things down to their simplest steps. If I give Laura her pills while I am filling a glass of water, she will pop them right into her mouth without water and as they start to dissolve, make all sorts of faces. I thought I solved this little problem. As I gave her a pill I told her not to take it because I was filling her water glass. When I gave her the water glass, she smiled and drank it all. I thought I had averted a problem, but then she showed me her pill and asked “when do I take this?” Ooops! I have to simultaneously say “take the pill, here’s the water” as I hand them to her. Over the period of a day, it’s little things like that that can build up a huge amount of stress for her and that leads to deeper exhaustion.

My job is to make sure that she does get adequate sleep at night and spot nap in the daytime, but the harder part is to take as much stress out of her day as I can, even to the level of changing my expectations of what she hears, understands and ultimately is capable of doing.

#alzheimer's #dementia #living with dementia #alzhemiers #Caregivers #care partners #stress #exhaustion #sleep deprived #expectations

0001 | Stomping Grounds

#interview #grandpa #alzhemiers #storytelling #story

The 10 Commandments for Caregivers (in no special order)

and these aren’t so bad for everyday life either…

1. Thou Shall Not Say “Do You Remember...?” Try reminiscing with your loved ones. Say something like “I remember when we did…” The other way puts them on the spot and could feel like they’re caught in pop quiz.

2. “Thou Shall Not Be Condescending.” Use encouragement. Drop sarcasm, eye rolling and of course, check the tone of your voice. They are probably trying as hard as they can just to get by; they don’t need any judgement now.

3. “Thou Shall Not Command or Make Long Demands.” Your loved ones probably can’t remember long action items or things in a series. Sometimes they want to help but they just don’t know what to do. Ask them to do things and be specific. You may even want to model what you want them to do to get them started. If it is a familiar task they may go on auto pilot and be able to complete the job. But ask yourself, “What’s important here – the completion of the task or just their involvement?”

4. “Thou Shall Not Say “You can’t” or “You’re not able” – why not reinforce the positive and celebrate what they can do?

5. “Thou Shall Not Say “I told you…” Just repeat it – they obviously don’t remember. Helloooo – did you forget that they have a dementia?

6. “Thou Shall Not Argue.” For one thing you are going to lose. Throw logic and reasoning out the window; instead just agree and move on. My mantra has become “Does it really matter?” Look at the picture of the elephant at the top. How many legs does the elephant have? You know the answer is four. But if your loved one sees five or seven or whatever, agree. What difference does it make?

7. “Thou Shall Use Diversions and Distractions to Avoid Conflicts.” If you know you are approaching a situation that will agitate your loved one, why not divert their attention to avoid it. Learn your loved one’s “pleasure buttons” so that you can quickly and easily divert them. With Laura I can offer her some ice cream, or ask her about one of her childhood pets, and many times we have avoided meltdown areas.

8. “Thou Shall Never Shame Your Loved Ones.” They are struggling to do whatever they are doing. Ninety nine times out of a hundred they do something because they think it is the right thing to do or they just can’t help it. Just take care of the situation without shame or blame and take precautions so that it doesn’t happen again.

9. “Thou Shall Reassure Your Loved One.” We all need reassurance and love, how much more so if you are questioning everything that your brain is telling you. Why not make a big fuss over their accomplishments and their involvement. You get more bees with honey…

10. “Thou Shall Celebrate the Joys in Life.” No matter how big or how small, there are triumphs every day. Don’t overlook the small things, for small things today may be big ones tomorrow. Whether they are living in the past or totally consumed by the present, enter their world and live, love and laugh as you can.

The list could go on for quite a while, but these ten are a good start. Don’t get me wrong, I’m preaching to myself more than anyone. I’ve been guilty of breaking these at one time or another, The key is to consider each day an opportunity to learn more about your loved one and more about yourself. Albert Einstein said, “Anyone can learn but the trick is to practice what you have learned.” Learn from your mistakes, from my mistakes, and then change your thought process and your behavior. Remember, your loved ones can’t change, but you can.