Photography: Bianca, age 6 (grand daughter) Dr. Jytte Fogh Lokvig Until we find a cure for Alzheimer’s, there's still much we can do to make living with Alzheimer’s disease a positive experience. This is true whether we are involved with numerous residents at a care facilities or caring for a single person in a home setting. As caregivers and family members we can change our approaches and communications to make our interactions more positive and rewarding for everyone involved. *** For the last fifteen years, Jytte Lokvig, Ph. D. has focused her considerable energy and creativity to improving life with Alzheimer's for everyone involved. Her books on caregiving provide invaluable tools and ideas to thousands of individuals coping with memory-impairment. For a copy of your own, go to Publications. I trust you will find some ideas here to help you with your situation. I invite you to contact me with questions, anecdotes and suggestions. Contact Dr. Jytte [pronounced "Yudda"] The Basics: • Communication • Alzheimer’s and Dementia • Daily Issues: Bathing Food and Eating • Keeping Busy • Health • Alzheimer's A to Z - A Quick Reference Guide click here As caregivers we have a lot more control over our situations than many of us recognize. Through our tone, choice of words and attitude we can empower our care receivers and build up their self-esteem. The better they feel, the better our lives as caregivers will be. Many of us have a tendency to "mother" those in our care. This is a perfectly natural reaction, coming from our culture’s deeply ingrained notions of how to express compassion. As lovely as it may be to be mothered on occasion, most of us don’t appreciate being treated like children. People with Alzheimer’s are no different, although they may not be able to express it in words. We can respect these feelings even when dealing with an advanced Alzheimer’s person through our approaches and communication. We can encourage our care-receivers to make decisions to the best of their ability; we can solicit serious advice and engage in adult activities and conversations, one-sided though they may be. We will find our care-receivers becoming more responsive, involved and cooperative, because they feel empowered, respected, and acknowledged. *** All rights reserved. No part of this site may be copied or duplicated without the express permission of the maker. Copyright Jytte Lokvig, Ph.D. 2008