Learning Books on Geriatrics

I've been collecting books on geriatrics and specifically dementia for the last several years. I won't list all of them from my bookshelves but some of my favorites that are dementia-related are:

The Forgetting: Alzheimer's Portrait of an Epidemic by David Shenk

Aging with Grace by David Snowdon, Ph.D

The Validation Breakthrough by Naomi Feil

and one of my very favorites
The Moral Challenge of Alzheimer Disease by Stephen G. Post (an excellent discussion on ethics and Alzheimer's).

You might check with you local Alzheimer Association office. In my state they help sponsor an annual state-wide conference on Alzheimer's and related-diseases and I have learned so much when I've been able to attend. They bring in the latest researchers and have sessions on caregiving, communication, spirituality, medications, and more.

I've found one of the best ways to communicate with the cognitively impaired is to use a gentle humor. Drawing the client into a humorous interaction usually makes them more open to accepting direction and assistance. And sometimes, you have to walk away and try again in a few minutes or have another staff member approach the person.

Happy communicating!

A calm and quite environment is the key.You must speak quitely and use short simple one step commands while attempting care.If the resident gets agitated just walk away for a bit...forcing them to do anything usually leads to increased agitation and combativeness....Familiarize yourself with the care plans-any problem you could have delivering care has probably been addressed there.Above all-no matter "how far gone" you think someone may be they deserve to be treated with respect and spoken to as adults....They often have moments of seeming clarity-that can be very sad.I tell the cna's that having alzheimer's is like waking up in the gutter in a country like Japan with empty pockets.You can't speak the language and you are scared.That's what the world is like for them-they look at every day objects like the toilet and have no idea what it is....Just be patient and remember that they can not help the way they act...