Presenting the most up-to-date information available about dementia and intellectual disabilities, this book brings together the latest international research and evidence-based practice, and describes clearly the relevance and implications for support and servicesInternationally renowned experts from the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands discuss good practice and the way forward in relation to assessment, diagnosis, interventions, staff knowledge and trai...

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...

The experiences and needs of residents and patients in nursing and care homes are very different at night, and this is particularly true for those with dementia. Yet nursing and care homes are not always inspected with the same rigour at night as they are during the day, and night staff do not always receive the same levels of training, resources and supervision as day staff.This book provides night staff, their managers and anyone else with an interest in care homes during the nig...

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...

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...

The correlation between 'disengagement' and illness in people with dementia living in long-term care settings is becoming more widely recognised, and developing and adapting front-line staff responses to the changing needs of individuals is a crucial factor in addressing this problem.This book presents a complete practical framework for whole person assessment, care planning and review of persons with dementia or signs of dementia (including those with learning disabilities) who ar...

The award-winning PEARL (Positively Enriching and enhancing Residents' Lives) programme was developed to enable care homes to move from providing good fundamental care to excellent person-centred dementia care. Trialled extensively by one of the UK's largest care providers, it has been proven to dramatically increase the quality of life of people with dementia living in care homes, significantly reducing the use of antipsychotics and the incidence of stress-related behaviours.This ...

Although currently many people with dementia are not given the opportunity to receive professional counselling, this book explores the value of counselling for men and women living with this condition and how it enables them to make sense of their lives and their notions of themselves. The author explores the pervasive myth that all experiences of living with dementia are entirely negative and shows counsellors and carers how a person-centred counselling experience can have positive outcom...