Dr. Ruth Weighs in on Alzheimer's Caregiving

 "The purpose is to make carrying that weight [of caring for someone with Alzheimer's] a little more tolerable."

Marie Marley receives a pleasant surprise 

About the Alzheimer's Reading Room

The goal of the Alzheimer's Reading Room is to Educate and Empower Alzheimer's caregivers their families, and the entire Alzheimer's community.

In the Alzheimer's Reading Room (ARR), we offer "real life" solutions to problems that Alzheimer's caregivers face each day.

The website contains a knowledge base of more than 3,800 articles. These articles can be found via a keyword search using the search box on the right hand side of every webpage. We add new information to the knowledge base every day.


Read More about the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Is Coconut Oil a Treatment for Alzheimer's?

The article discusses the issue and offers possible explanations of the positive affect of coconut oil on Alzheimer's patients.

Rudy Tanzi

It is almost like a cult, people extolling coconut oil as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

They send emails and enter comments constantly on theAlzheimer's Reading Room. Is coconut oil an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease?

In the article below Rudy Tanzi discusses the issue and offers possible explanations of the positive affect of coconut oil on Alzheimer's patients.

There is currently no peer-reviewed clinical research available regarding the efficacy of coconut oil in treating or preventing Alzheimer’s.

Thanks to the Cure Alzheimer's Fund for this information.

Continued on the Next Page

Love, Loss and Laughter: Seeing Alzheimers Differently, Photo Exhibit Redefines Alzheimers

The photographer and author, Cathy Greenblat, PhD, is a sociologist who arguably is the world's leading documentarian of this new approach to Alzheimer's care.

Having lost her mother and maternal grandparents to the disease, she has studied and pictured care in memory clinics, homes, day programs and residential centers around the world.

Continue reading in the Alzheimer's Reading Room

http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2012/03/love-loss-and-laughter-seeing.html

Rewiring My Brain and Stepping into Alzheimer's World

Once you start to understand how things work in Alzheimer's World you get calm and comfortable. Once you get calm and comfortable you give off a better "vibe" to someone that has Alzheimer's.

By Bob DeMarco 
Alzheimer's Reading Room 

I would find a new way to communicate with my mother who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

I wrote that on my da Vinci pad in 2004. This was at the same time I was coming to another conclusion, something had to change and that something was me.

I did not perceived the changes in communication as being difficult. After all, I had been studying communication and decision making all the way back to college days, and ever since. I figured some practice and I would get the hang of it.

What I did not immediately perceive was how difficult it would be to change all the things I had learned over the course of my life. 


Continue Reading --

Rewiring My Brain and Stepping into Alzheimer's World

Why is this happening? What can I do?

If you are not actively searching for solutions, you are part of the problem.

By Bob DeMarco 
Alzheimer's Reading Room 

Yesterday I read what I considered to be a rather nasty complaint from an Alzheimer's caregiver. The caregiver complained that her father ruined Christmas for everyone especially her because he was grouchy and yelling at the kids.

I conjured up an image of what it would be like for someone living with Alzheimer's to be exposed to a bunch of unruly kids running around and yelling and screaming.

I asked myself, what would my reaction be? Well if the kids were playing and having a good time, I might smile. On the other hand, if the kids were being loud and rude, I might be thinking something like, why don't their parents step in and ask them to behave?

I Forgot My Mother Has Alzheimer's

In Alzheimer's World, Dotty is the person I always knew. Sure, her brain is sick. But, once I started treating Dotty like the person I always knew, she rewarded me by becoming kinder, gentler, and more cooperative.

By Bob DeMarco 
Alzheimer's Reading Room 

Learning How to Communicate
with Someone Suffering From Dementia

If you want to get some good insight into how I rewired my brain and became a more effective Alzheimer's caregiver I suggest you take the time to read these two article:Alzheimer's and the Wiring of My Brain, and Rewiring My Brain and Stepping into Alzheimer's World. 

I'm not sure when I actually started to forget that Dotty lives with Alzheimer's. 

Read the entire story here.