In this episode, I help you make the most of the upcoming holidays while caring for someone with dementia. Listen to helpful tips, from involving the person living with dementia to handling the pain in the ass relative who criticizes your care. Make Dementia Your B*tch podcast has been selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 25 Dementia Podcasts for 2023—check it out: https://blog.feedspot.com/dementia_podcasts/ Other resources: New! 5 Ways to help People living with dementia who refuse help: https://dementiacentricsolutions.com/caring-for-someone-living-with-dementia-tired-of-fighting-and-argu ..read more

In this episode, I provide you with a resource: law enforcement who have received crisis intervention training that includes helping caregivers and people with dementia. This is a critical resource, especially for families of people living with behavioral variant FTD. I also discuss genetic testing. Here is the website for free genetic testing, if you qualify: www.probablygenetic.com Other resources: Alzheimer’s Association and genetic testing·        FTD and genetic testing·        Lewy body and genetic testing: Scroll to ..read more

Caregivers often ask me for ways to manage crying behaviors. These crying behaviors can happen multiple times a day for a short time, or once a day but for hours. Learn what may be causing those behaviors and how to respond in a loving way. Make Dementia Your B*tch podcast has been selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 25 Dementia Podcasts for 2023—check it out: https://blog.feedspot.com/dementia_podcasts/ Free VIRTUAL dementia education and support session calendar: https://dementiacentricsolutionsllc.clickmeeting.com/monthly-dementia-webinars Other resources: New! 5 Ways to help People livi ..read more

It is really frustrating when the person living with dementia refuses to accept care or tells you that he or she already performed the task. You know the drill. “Take a shower,” you say. “I just did,” they say…even though you know it has been days, weeks, maybe months since they have had a shower. Bathing isn’t the only challenging behavior. Convincing a person with dementia to remove soiled clothing can be a nightmare, a literal tug-of-war between the two of you. One strategy that is useful is called “caregiver vibes.” This strategy has two parts. The first part is to become calm. Yes, I know ..read more

Weight loss in people living with dementia can stem from a variety of causes: the need for more help or supervision; being too sedated to properly eat; pacing and unable to sit still to consume a meal; or refusing to eat. In this episode, I provide approaches for all of these causes and provide strategies if your family member is refusing to eat. If you live in the Birmingham, AL area, Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church will be hosting a gathering for caregivers of people living with FTD to assess interest in a support group. This gathering will be Tuesday, Dec 6 6pm-8pm at 2061 Kentucky A ..read more

Behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia is one of the most misunderstood of the dementias. Today’s podcast is focused exclusively on this dementia. Learn why it is misdiagnosed and how to handle many of this dementia’s specific challenges. If you live in the Birmingham, AL area, Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church will be hosting a gathering for caregivers of people living with FTD to assess interest in a support group. This gathering will be Tuesday, Dec 6 6pm-8pm at 2061 Kentucky Avenue, Vestavia, Alabama. See you there! Make Dementia Your B*tch podcast has been selected by Feedspot as ..read more

Holiday season is busy. Even busier if you care for someone living with dementia. In this episode, you will learn helpful strategies for navigating holiday parties and religious celebrations. I provide all purpose "scripts" for dealing with long-distance relatives and uninvolved family members who criticize your care in the form of "concern." Whether you spin the #dreidel, dance around the #Yule log, decorate the #Christmas tree, or burn the #Kwanzaa candles--this podcast is for you! Make Dementia Your B*tch podcast has been selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 25 Dementia Podcasts for 2022 ..read more

In this episode, I want to address a topic that can be uncomfortable: sexual behavior in people living with dementia. Sometimes, an aging parent with dementia may make overtures to an adult child of the opposite gender. I explain how this is a case of "mistaken identity" and how to prevent it. There are times when the person living with dementia wants sexual activity, but the spouse, for a variety of reasons, cannot connect in that way. Learn how to meet that spouse's need for loving touch without involving sexual activity. Persons living with bvFTD present extremely challenging sexual behavio ..read more

Why does my family member’s dementia look differently from others with the same diagnosis, or even at the same stages? I get this question multiple times a week. Sometimes, caregivers are confused because this is the second, or third, person they are caring for…and their experience this time is very different from earlier experiences. Or, a caregiver is going to a support group and realizes that their loved one’s memory problems are not consistent with what other members are describing. Caregivers start to wonder if the person living with dementia is “pretending” to have memory problems or if ..read more

Why does my family member’s dementia look differently from others with the same diagnosis, or even at the same stages? I get this question multiple times a week. Sometimes, caregivers are confused because this is the second, or third, person they are caring for…and their experience this time is very different from earlier experiences. Or, a caregiver is going to a support group and realizes that their loved one’s memory problems are not consistent with what other members are describing. Caregivers start to wonder if the person living with dementia is “pretending” to have memory problems or if ..read more