I believe everyone who hears the words: you have dementia, probably of the Alzheimer’s type, and certainly with Alzheimer’s syndrome should within the following 7 days sit down with his or her family (perhaps friends too) and begin to answer these questions. They should commit to meet once a month and discuss these subjects, as everyone who runs into Dr. Alzheimer’s runs into the need to answer these questions.

Why wait until the last minute? Until there is an incident? Until it is urgent a decision is made now? Let us being to open out new lines of communication today. Dr. Alzheimer’s won’t go away, and he upsets all the tried and proven ways people have developed over the years to love each other, to get along, to support each other.

No matter where someone is in terms of the stages of the disease it is never too late to start talking. There may be a price to pay for not starting earlier, but a larger price is being paid for not talking.

These are issues that should stimulate open communication: between PWD and their caregivers, within PWD, and between and within caregivers.

Richard