Blog & Resources

If you are healthy and younger than 65, stimulating your brain with activities and games can keep your mind sharp later in life (unless you develop a dementia-related disease or have a stroke or a head injury). If you currently have some form of dementia, brain games and “active mind” activity can still help.

There are plenty of online games and apps available to play on the computer, your cell phone, or tablet. Some are free and some require a one-time or monthly fee. Don’t forget the benefits of playing simple board games, such as checkers, chess, matching games, or a jigsaw puzzle. Other puzzle games, such as Sudoku and crossword puzzles, are challenging, as well, and are often found in your local newspaper.

Here's some of our favorites:

STAYING SHARP

AARP recommends utilizing the Staying Sharp system. Besides offering games and

Honesty is not always the best policy when it comes to someone with Alzheimer’s or Dementia.

That’s because their brain may experience a different version of reality. Dementia damages the brain and causes progressive decline in the ability to understand and process information.

That’s why forcing someone to abandon their version of reality and join our “real world” can cause confusion, pain, anxiety, fear, and anger.

So, dementia care experts often recommend a technique called therapeutic fibbing. It helps you step into their current reality and spare them unnecessary upset and distress.

This technique takes some getting used to because going along with your older adult’s new reality can feel like you’re lying to them.

But using white lies to validate their feelings and reassure them is certainly notthe same as lying for a malicious reason.

People with Alzheimer's disease or other dementia disorders lose the ability to drive safely. Learn how and when to help someone stop driving.

Safe driving requires attention, concentration, and the ability to follow particular steps and rules. You also need to be able to make quick and appropriate decisions. For people with Alzheimer's disease or other disorders causing dementia, these skills will decline over time. Eventually, driving will not be an option.

The decision to stop driving may be difficult for the person with dementia, caregivers and family members. If you care for someone with dementia, consider these strategies to prioritize safety and ease the transition.

Starting the conversation

A person with dementia may perceive giving up driving as a loss of independence, and deciding not to drive means accepting that one's abilities

For anyone actively in the role of 'caregiver' for a person who is living with Dementia, it can be an incredibly stressful relationship to navigate. Losing the context of a conversation, or becoming hyper-focused are both possibilities. We all now know, hopefully, that confronting out loved one or client is never the solution. It may actually inflame the exchange to an irreparable  place. The art of 'Redirection' is a skill we all can practice, and we're hopeful these tips make your interactions easier. 

The cold and flu season is upon us again. Unfortunately, seniors and caregivers are two of the most likely groups of people to get sick. Older adults have weaker immune systems and so do most caregivers (due to lack of sleep and chronic stress). And because you spend a lot of time together, you’re more likely to pass germs back and forth.

Even so, there’s still a lot that you can do to reduce the chances that you or your older adult will get sick and to reduce the length or severity of an illness. Basically, the goal is to boost the immune system and reduce exposure to germs. Here’s 10 tips for avoiding the flu and in case you or your older adult gets sick.

10 cold and flu prevention tips reduce risk for seniors and caregivers

1. Get the flu vaccine

Getting a flu shot reduces the risk of getting the flu. It also reduces the severity