For the increasing number of people diagnosed with dementia each year, treatment in the early stages can make a significant difference to their quality of life. This book provides examples of psychosocial interventions: taking into consideration the individual, social and environmental aspects of the person's life.It looks at ways of providing support at the time of diagnosis and goes on to explore a variety of interventions and services for the treatment of early dementia. Bringin...

In this moving and controversial Quarterly Essay, doctor and writer Karen Hitchcock investigates the treatment of the elderly and dying through some unforgettable cases. With honesty and deep experience, she looks at end-of-life decisions, frailty and dementia, over-treatment and escalating costs.Ours is a society in which ageism, often disguised, threatens to turn the elderly into a “burden” – difficult, hopeless, expensive and homogenous. While we rightly seek to curb treatment w...

The truly inspirational account of living positively with dementia.Christine Bryden was a top civil servant and single mother of three children when she was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 46. Since then she has gone on to challenge almost every stereotype of people with dementia by campaigning for self-advocacy, writing articles and speaking at national conferences.This book is a vivid account of the author's experiences of living with dementia, expl...

Christine Bryden was 46 years old when she was diagnosed with dementia, and in this book she describes her remarkable emotional, physical and spiritual journey in the three years immediately following. Offering rare first-hand insights into how it feels to gradually lose the ability to undertake tasks most people take for granted, it is made all the more remarkable by Christine's positivity and strength, and deep sense, drawn in part from her Christian faith, that life continues to have pu...

Kate Swaffer was just 49 years old when she was diagnosed with a form of younger onset dementia. In this book, she offers an all-too-rare first-hand insight into that experience, sounding a clarion call for change in how we ensure a better quality of life for people with dementia.Kate describes vividly her experiences of living with dementia, exploring the effects of memory difficulties, loss of independence, leaving long-term employment, the impact on her teenage sons, and the eno...

In this short, powerful book, Karen Hitchcock shines a light on ageism in our society. Through some unforgettable case studies, she shows what care for the elderly and dying is really like – both the good and the bad. With honesty and deep experience, she looks at end-of-life decisions and over-treatment, frailty and dementia.Dear Life is a moving and controversial argument against the creeping tendency to see the elderly as a “burden”—difficult, hopeless, expensive and ho...

This book offers an accessible and sympathetic introduction for relatives, carers and professionals looking after or training to work with people with dementia. Drawing on the two `laws of dementia', the author explains the causes of communication problems, mood disturbances and `deviant' behaviours, with particular emphasis on how these are experienced by dementia sufferers themselves. Case examples demonstrate the typical symptoms and progression of dementia, and clear guidance is provid...

'Hi Dad . . . can we have a chat about your dementia . . . Can you remember how it started?'When Ron Husband started to forget things - dates, names, appointments . . . daft things, important things - it took a while to realise that this was 'a different form of forgetting'. But it was just the first sign of the illness that gradually took him away from the family he loved.This is the touching, illustrated story of Tony's father and how dementia slowly took him awa...

Maintaining a connection to nature is increasingly recognised as an important component of caring for a person with dementia. Design for Nature in Dementia Care provides comprehensive examples of ways to connect to nature through indoor and outdoor activities.The author describes a wide range of activities that offer a connection to nature, such as caring for house plants and pets, gardening and cooking, practising handicrafts and domestic chores. He suggests practical ways to inco...

As we grow older, our need to be engaged in interesting activities does not diminish and is vital to our quality of life. How to Make Your Care Home Fun examines the need for activities for elderly people in care and offers a practical programme of entertaining activities that can be used in nursing and residential homes, day centres, rehabilitation centres and hospices.As well as suggesting a programme of activities for older people in care homes including arts and crafts, role-pl...

When tasked with providing activities for older people in care homes, it can be difficult to know where to begin. What constitutes an activity? How can you make sure activities are as positive and person-centred as possible? What can you actually do? Written by an experienced activity coordinator, this handbook is an indispensable companion for others in this role. The author provides useful background information on dementia, the importance of activities and how to get to know residents t...

Activity and engagement are vital to our well-being throughout our lives and this continues to be just as true of people living with dementia.The activities presented in this book have been designed to provide meaningful engagement for residents, while respecting each individual resident's readiness to engage and participate. This approach to person-centred care has proven to be extremely effective: activities such as Namaste Care and Memory Cafés have engaged residents who had pre...