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Happy New Year!
What's Your Brain Health Plan for 2018?
by Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA
Every year people work on New Year's Resolutions. What change will I make this year to improve my life in some way, over last year? Typically, people focus on a specific new thing to do, without really looking carefully at what they currently do, and more importantly, how and why they do it!
In November of last year, one of our webinars looked at the importance of taking care of ourselves and our brains, if we are interested both in reducing risk of developing some forms of dementia and optimizing our abilities, even if we have dementia active in our daily lives.
Just because we know what is good for us, doesn't mean we will do anything about it, other than think about it or worry about it. What we are not so good at, is investigating the reasons and feelings that cause us to do WHAT we do now and what seems to keep us from changing in the ways we would like.
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Up the Down Staircase
by Brian LeBlanc,
International Dementia Advocate
As a child in the 60s and 70s, I cou
ldn't wait to get to adulthood and do all the things a
n older pers
on gets to do. The one thing I never counted on was watching my maternal grandfather, my father, and my mother mentally decline with Dementia-Related Illnesses.
What I REALLY didn't count on was being diagnosed in 2014 at the age of 54 with Alzheimers Disease.
Devastating? YES! Life Altering? YES!
Stopped Living a Full Life? NOT A CHANCE!
The day you receive your diagnosis is not the day you start forgetting things. It's not when you start misplacing things or start getting lost. If you're like me, you've probably been doing those things for years. It just means what you're experiencing now has a name.
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The Time to Plan for Disability is NOW!
Some folks believe that legal, financial, and care planning is only for older adults, but we know that bad things happen to good people of all ages. While it is preferable to create a game plan for disability while in the Sapphire state, a dementia diagnosis does not necessarily preclude one from creating a game plan and signing legal documents. That game plan starts with the legal documents needed during lifetime: a durable financial power of attorney and a healthcare advance directive. Then there are the documents that must be signed during life but are necessary upon death: a will and possibly a trust. This series of articles addresses the critical elements of the documents necessary for you to create an effective plan that will meet your needs in the event of disability.
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Learning to Shift from Crisis to Comfort
Highlights from Lori LaBey's Dementia Friendly Symposium & Cruise
by Becky Watson,
Owner - Music for Wellness, LLC
What an inspirational and insightful symposium with 50 individuals living with dementia!
It was an honor to be a part of a great program team including: Michel Ellenbogen, Harry Urban, Laurie Scherrer, Mary Read, Cyndy Luzinski, Anita Jader, and Lori LaBey of Alzheimer's Speaks onboard MS Nieuw Amsterdam, Holland Cruise line, for a seven day cruise to the eastern Caribbean from November 11-17, 2017.
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Do You Want to be a Champion for People Living with Dementia?
As we care partner with a person living with dementia, we have tasks that need to be completed - bathing, dressing, nutrition and hydration, just to name a few. There is a task that needs to be done, but how can we get this accomplished, especially if we aren't on the same page with the person we are caring for? If we push too hard, the task at hand can move even further out of reach. Sometimes, it can create friction and frustration for both people. So what do we do?
Positive Approach® to Care (PAC™) has just the answer for you, as we roll out something new for 2018. Do you ever wish that you could bring a PAC mentor right into your hometown or even into your facility to work with your staff on their PAC skills? PAC will be offering just that with our new Champion Courses. In February, we will have Champion Courses in the Atlanta and Detroit areas. As the year progresses, we will be in many other towns, as well. These programs are all led by Teepa's Accomplished Mentors.
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Blessings for the New Year
by Rev. Linn Possell,
PAC Lead Mentor Coach
"Just to be is a blessing; Just to live is Holy."
- Rabbi Heschel
Often times we set new goals for the new year in January. We look at ways that we can improve on things in our life or decide to take action to make changes that we hope will move us in positive directions. Taking stock in our life and seeing what is working and what we might want to change is always a good practice.
For this New Year I would like to invite you to try a new exercise, one that you can do more than just on January 1st, but one that I try to do every day.
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You Too Can Take the Lead!
by Mary Sue Wilkinson, Founder - Singing Heart to Heart
I love to sing. As you may know, I lead sing-alongs in person using my guitar and my voice. But did you know I also use recorded music? I carry a wireless speaker and my phone with me everywhere I go. Don't let the fact that you don't play an instrument stop you from leading music sessions. Here are six great reasons to let some basic technology help you lead music sessions. It's really very simple, but if you need some help getting started just find a young person to walk you through it. I know you can do it. No more excuses. Bring on the music!
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Happy New Year, Happy Certification Courses!
2018 PAC Certification Course Registration is OPEN!
We have dates and locations across the US, Canada, and the UK!
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PAC Community Highlight: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
by Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA
In late January, we will be working with Keith Faime and our PAC Champions at the Brown Center in Michigan to offer Positive Approach support to those on the Front Line of Care!
Here we feature an article detailing Keith's filming of the Grosse Pointe Senior Men's Choir as he creates a piece on the importance of socialization for his upcoming documentary "On the Front Lines of Alzheimer's and Dementia." This event was sponsored in part by the Family Center which hosted a PAC event recently.
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Treating Depression
Re-emerging Options in Therapy
by Courtney Chorba, MPH & Beth Nolan, PhD
In PAC, we understand that depression is a clinical condition that can often accompany dementia. In treating depression, there are two, often overlapping, approaches that are backed by clinical evidence: medication and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). While in many instances medication may be a necessary and extremely beneficial route, other therapeutic options that often supplement the medication or used in absence of medication, can have an additive affect for the person living with depression. For some, the availability of these non-medicinal options is essential, as some medications can have side effects that are unpleasant, dangerous, and in extreme cases, life-threatening.
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Projects with the University of Southern Indiana and PAC
by Beth Nolan, PhD
A common question we receive here at Positive Approach® to Care (PAC) is, "what is the evidence-base for Teepa's Positive Approach?" In this reoccurring journal entry, we'll explore not only the current state of the research Teepa used to build Positive Approach to Care, but also the current state of the various, on-going research projects happening throughout PAC.
The most recent research project came out of a relationship Teepa has with Dr. Katie Elhman, associate professor of gerontology and director of the University of Southern Indiana's Center for Healthy Aging and Wellness. Dr. Elhman became a PAC Certified Independent Trainer at one of our first set of PAC Trainer Certification courses in July 2014. Teepa met Dr. Elhman at the Mid-America Institute on Aging and Wellness (MAIA) annual conference - a two-day, gerontology conference for lay persons, nurses, social workers, older adults, and professionals working in the field of gerontology filled with practical tools and ground-breaking information related to successful aging and gerontology. The conversations Dr. Elhman and I had during our mentor calls led to the USI-PAC collaboration to study a change model on how care is provided for people living with dementia in southern, rural Indiana.
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Upcoming Events
February 1, 2018
San Diego, CA
February 5, 2018
Raleigh-Durham, NC
Raleigh-Durham, NC
February 7, 2018
Grosse Pointe, MI
February 9, 2018
Fort Thomas, KY
February 12, 2018
Barrie, ON
February 15, 2018
Naples, FL
February 20, 2018
Jackson, TN
February 22, 2018
Atlanta, GA
February 26, 2018
Cincinnati, OH
March 1, 2018
Cincinnati, OH
March 5, 2018
Ottawa, ON
March 7, 2018
Lake Havasu, AZ
March 9, 2018
Phoenix, AZ
March 15, 2018
Oconomowoc, WI
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Did you miss a webinar in 2017?
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Book your event today for staff training, family nights, professional referral source events, or refresher workshops
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PAC Training increases awareness, knowledge, and confidence among care staff and educates resident families.
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Would you like your staff to be able to learn from Teepa Snow, 24/7?
is now offering Teepa Snow programs on its Group Training Website!
Each of your staff members can get their own online video account, with videos selected by you!
Be their "Online Group Leader" and monitor their activity, course completion, and quiz results* (where applicable).
Click below to learn more!
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Be Brave Enough To Start A Conversation That Matters
CLICK HERE
To Learn More
About
Caring Conversations
and the
Caring Conversations
Tool Kit
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Becoming Dementia Aware
Would you like to learn how to begin changing your approach and interactions to better serve those living with dementia?
Learn from the comfort of your own home! Sign up today to experience Becoming Dementia Aware. In this three hour online course, Teepa takes you through the areas of the brain affected by dementia and introduces skills and strategies for better ways to care.
The course is broken down into nine sections and includes the following topics: Diving Deeper into Dementia, Better Ways to Care, Seeing and Responding to the Changes, Greet Before You Treat, Positive Physical Approach (PPA), Skills In Depth, After PPA, Caring for All, and Content Review
Whether you're a professional or family care partner, this content will help you begin to change your approach with people living with dementia.
Enrollment Fee: $100
After completing the course, you have the option of signing up for remote/virtual coaching with a PAC Mentor to help reinforce the newly learned content and practice Positive Physical Approach™ and Hand-under-Hand®.
Mentoring Fee: $65/hour
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Teepa Snow,
Today's Voice for Dementia
Teepa is an advocate for those living with dementia and has made it her personal mission to help families and professionals better understand how it feels to be living with dementia related challenges and change. Her company, Positive Approach, LLC was founded in 2005 and offers education to family and professional care partners all over the world. Her goal? Making a difference...one mind at a time.
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