20 Questions, 100 Answers, 6 Perspectives (About Dementia)
What is dementia? How should the doctor share a diagnosis of dementia with the person and the family members? What happens after the diagnosis? What are some best-care practices?
This new, 2-disk program is a compilation of honest answers about dementia from medical doctors, professional care partners, family members of those diagnosed with dementia, and a person living with it. Filled with thoughtful perspectives and firsthand experiences, this DVD will both empower families to understand and deal with dementia on their own terms and encourage healthcare professionals to think beyond their current views of dementia to provide better person- and family-centered care.
The topics include:
- Maintaining a respect for the personhood of each person
- Ways to help persons with dementia to continue to live purposefully
- Recognizing differences in forms of dementia
- Medications and behavioral concerns
- End-of-life care
Everyone will be informed, encouraged, and challenged by these well-rounded insights.
Hosted by journalist Julie Anderson, this program features Judy Berry, Mona Johnson, G. Allen Power, MD, Richard Taylor, PhD, Sarah Rowan, PhD, and Bill Thomas, MD.
Be With Me Today
Richard Taylor was diagnosed with dementia, probably of the Alzheimer's type, when he was 58 years old. Now 66, Richard speaks to the public about living with the disease and sends out a challenge to the Alzheimer's outsider.
This is the first DVD in a series of Richard's "TODAYs." Join Richard as he speaks from his heart, urging all of us to recognize that "THERE IS A PERSON IN THERE." It is a remarkable documentation of his presentation to aging services professionals, urging them to embrace the culture change philosophy of person-centered care.
For anyone who knows, interacts with, works with, or provides services to people with dementia. A percentage of proceeds from the DVD will benefit the Culture Change Network of Georgia www.CultureChangeGA.org
"Richard, you have dementia, probably of the Alzheimer's type."
I went through most of the stages of dying. And the irony of it all was I wasn’t dying. But that’s what it feels like when you hear those words.
- Richard Taylor
Alzheimer’s is called “the long goodbye.”
Don’t say goodbye.
Say HELLO- Richard Taylor
Live Outside the Stigma
Everyone talks of the Myths and Stigmas attached to the words you have dementia, probably of this or that type. What are some of these myths and stigmas? How does someone living with the real consequences of them live with them, explain them, try everyday to over-come them within himself.
This "insider's manual" of understanding, dealing with, and breaking out of the boundaries of a dementia diagnosis is filled with information that Dr. Taylor wished he had known early on. His valuable hindsights will help those newly diagnosed with dementia, as well as, caregivers and family members, to get a better understanding of how to live with and/or provide care to persons with dementia.
In this production, Richard Taylor, with great eloquence, emotional honesty, and humanity, shines a light on the myths and stigmas that have become so interwoven into our cultural understanding of dementia. By exposing the complacent repetition of these powerful myths about dementia, as well as the indignities that result from them, Richard makes an appeal for a more humane, compassionate, and psychosocial approach to dementia -- nothing less than a Copernican shift in the way our culture understands and behaves towards persons with aging brains. This is an impassioned monologue that deserves immediate attention and, more importantly, action.
~ Daniel George, Ph.D, M.Sc, Penn State College of Medicine.
"Several years ago, a neurologist walked into his office, in which my wife and my brother and I sat. And he looked down at his desk, and he said, 'Richard, you have dementia, probably of the Alzheimer's type'."
~ Richard Taylor, PhD.
Living with Dementia - To change your minds about people whose minds have changed
Together, in this powerful presentation, G. Allen Power, MD., and Richard Taylor, PhD., redefine dementia, and challenge viewers to make a dramatic shift--from viewing dementia as a series of deficits to viewing it as a shift in the way a person experiences the world around them. It discusses ways to improve dementia care and reduce challenging behaviors by retaining the personhood of the person with dementia, adjusting the environment, and using non-pharmacological approaches that respond to the needs of the person.
Dr. Power understands dementia from a medical and caring perspective in ways that few do, and Dr. Taylor, who was diagnosed with dementia, shares his experiences with dementia "from the inside out". They offer a transforming wealth of ideas and food for thought that are sure to challenge many preconceived notions about dementia. An empowering resource for caregivers, family members, and persons living with the symptoms of dementia. The DVD includes Dr. Power's presentation, Dr. Taylor's presentation, and a combination question-and-answer session.
Together, in part three of this DVD, these two inspiring speakers respond to common questions and concerns, including
- How to communicate a person’s preferences to care staff Whether asking for opinions and responses from people with dementia is confusing for them
- Ways to have better long-distance interchanges with a loved one by phone
- Whether better care practices can be taught or are essentially innate
- And much more
This valuable training tool helps to raise the awareness of anyone working in long-term care settings to the remaining potential for people with dementia to lead satisfying and fulfilling lives — with appropriate supports — despite their losses.
