Coping with dementia caregiving

Posted: January 6, 2017, 5:35PM

Teepa Snow is a Caregiver Consultant and Dementia Care Education Specialist with a background in Occupational Therapy.

She has recommended 5 steps in working with a loved one with dementia.

First, Ms. Snow says is to take a step back before you move forward. Assess the situation. What is going on? What could your loved one need?

Then - respond - don't react. Reacting creates a cycle. You react, your loved one reacts to your reaction and so on. Stop and think about how to respond to the situation.

Third - Make a schedule but be flexible. Structure is very important to the person with dementia but be ready for change. So much can happen that will necessitate a change in the schedule.

Fourth - control what we can but accept what we can't. (Think about the Serenity Prayer!)

And - lastly - if it's not working, stop trying. Walk away and regroup.

You can learn more on the Teepa Snow website.