The Busy Caregiver's Guide to Advanced Alzheimer Disease

by Jennifer R. Stelter, Rachael Wonderlin (Editor)

Overview

The only guide to caring for those with advanced Alzheimer disease.

Winner of the IPPY Book Award Health/Medicine/Nutrition by the Independent Publisher

Caring for someone living with advanced Alzheimer disease is a challenge. It can make you feel like you're on a hamster wheel—running in circles, trying the same things over and over with no effect on your loved one. You may also find it difficult to connect with your loved one and to understand what those living with Alzheimer disease are going through. In The Busy Caregiver's Guide to Advanced Alzheimer Disease, Dr. Jennifer Stelter, a psychologist working in memory care, shares a new model designed to help caregivers understand, cope with, and handle some of the most challenging behaviors associated with the disease while encouraging and reinforcing independence and quality of life for their loved ones. Her Dementia Connection Model, which is based on current scientific research, will aid you in forging a positive bond with your loved one with less frustration. Win-win!

Follow along, step by step, as Dr. Stelter outlines the three main elements of the Dementia Connection Model and learn how to put these elements into practice to help with

• communication problems
• eating difficulties
• mobility concerns
• memory deficits
• behavioral issues
• toileting trouble
• and other common complications of Alzheimer disease.

The evidenced-based, practical interventions and strategies in The Busy Caregiver's Guide will help you stay emotionally, mentally, and physically involved in your loved one's life. Special dedicated worksheets help you practice the skills and keep track of what is working. You'll also read stories about other caregivers who face the same struggles.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421441078
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	10/19/2021
Series:	A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.76(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jennifer R. Stelter is a licensed clinical psychologist, certified dementia practitioner and trainer, and consultant. She is the co-owner of NeuroEssence, LLC, and the owner of The Oil Doctor, PsyD, LLC.

Gerontologist Rachael Wonderlin (PITTSBURGH, PA) is an internationally recognized dementia care consultant who owns a senior living consulting company and runs the popular blog and podcast by the same name, Dementia By Day. She is the author of When Someone You Know Is Living in a Dementia Care Community and the coauthor of Creative Engagement: A Handbook of Activities for People with Dementia.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. What is Alzheimer Disease?
2. What is the Dementia Connection Model?
3. Using the Dementia Connection Model
4. Communication Challenges
5. Eating, Feeding, and Nutrition Challenges
6. Sleeping Challenges
7. Toileting Challenges
8. Bathing Challenges
9. Pain and Pain Management
10. Depression, Hallucinations, and Delusions
11. Repetitive Behavior, Rummaging, and Collecting
12. Fight or Flight: Sundowning, Aggression, and Wandering
13. Intentional Care
14. Promoting Brain Health
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Andrea Nelson

Bringing together three theories of dementia connection, Dr. Stelter creates a unique care model for persons with dementia.

From the Publisher

Bringing together three theories of dementia connection, Dr. Stelter creates a unique care model for persons with dementia.
—Andrea Nelson, RN, MSN, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

A great, easy-to-read book. By providing practical anecdotes, Dr. Stelter makes what can be very academic theories available to the layperson. I absolutely love the idea of laying the content out as a workbook, allowing families to apply the exercises to real-life situations.
—Rachelle L. Blough, CTRS, CDP, CADDCT, memory care consultant

Rachelle L. Blough

A great, easy-to-read book. By providing practical anecdotes, Dr. Stelter makes what can be very academic theories available to the layperson. I absolutely love the idea of laying the content out as a workbook, allowing families to apply the exercises to real-life situations.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Crystal L Plank, RN, BSN, RAC-CTA, IP (University of Missouri)
Description: This book uses a new dementia model to help caregivers put into practice the methods for caring for their loved ones with Alzheimer's. It includes vital elements such as communication, mobility, memory, and behavioral issues in presenting practical interventions to care for loved ones. The book provides examples for each element, a grid to help organize the challenge, interventions, and if the attempt worked or not as well as the outcome.
Purpose: The purpose is to help caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease apply evidence-based criteria in the practical, real world of caregiving. It explores the top challenges in caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. The challenges faced by a caregiver of a loved one with advanced Alzheimer's are unique in nature and, therefore, the interventions will be also. As loved ones live longer with Alzheimer's due to medical advances and the care they receive, there is a great need for caregiver education.
Audience: This book is written with caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer's in mind. It presents information in a way in which readers can relate and use the information in daily life. It can also be used by students and practitioners in caring for residents and loved ones with Alzheimer's. It goes into greater depth regarding why loved ones with Alzheimer's experience things differently than other people. It also discusses different symptoms they may experience and when those symptoms occur. The author is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified dementia practitioner. She has collaborated with a gerontologist who is also a dementia care consultant.
Features: The book presents the author's "Dementia Connection Model" and how to use it. It explores the different challenges caregivers need to understand to care for their loved ones. It reviews challenges in activities of daily living, such as eating and toileting, and psychosocial concerns like behaviors, depression, hallucinations, sundowning, and wandering. There is a log after each challenge with examples of how to use it, which is beneficial to the caregiver.
Assessment: This book presents an in-depth look at caring for a loved one with advanced Alzheimer's disease in a practical, real-life way. It addresses the commonplace challenges and interventions to equip caregivers in caring for their loved ones.

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