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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What Gives You Joy? by Teepa Snow, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA
T
ry this out and see what it does for you. It's a video with animals that talk as though they are human.
Did you laugh? Smile? Chuckle? Did you call someone else over to watch? Or did you think it was silly or stupid? With humor it is pretty much to each his or her own, but there are some joys that are more universal. What's the value in laughing or finding moments of joy in a day? It is essential to survival and helps to keep us well and whole.
Here is a question and possibly a challenge for you. Think back over the past day, the last 24 hours of your life, and come up with a list of things you looked at, listened to, said, did, smelled, or tasted that gave you pleasure, made you smile or laugh, or filled you with joy. Make a list, then consider how much of your time they filled. Compare this list and time quantity to what you have done over the past day that was challenging or stressful, made you work, used your energy, or made you sad or frustrated. How about comparing your fun time to the time spent just resting or sleeping?
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b
y Dorothy Colby, PAC Trainer
If you look in the memory boxes outside the resident rooms at
Hale Kuʻike
, you will see many photos of husbands, wives, children, and friends, and their many happy times together. But if you look closely you will also see another beloved family member, their dog or cat. Their pets were there beside them as they married, with their children as they grew, and at their feet at family dinners. Often after their spouse passes on and children are grown and move away, their relationship with their dog or cat becomes even closer and more important. For a person living alone this can help give routine and purpose, to give value to life by caring for another that depends on us. Our pets give us unconditional love, regardless of age, disability, or dementia.
When a person living with dementia can no longer safely live at home on their own and moves into a long term care facility, they lose that opportunity to have continuous contact with the unconditional love of an animal.
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Advanced Care Skills in Late Stage Dementia A New DVD from The Pines Education and Training Institute
Are you caring for a person living in the late stages of dementia? Whether you work in skilled nursing, hospice, or in a home care setting, this program is a must-see for anyone who seeks to provide the most comfort, dignity and quality of life to the person living with dementia.
This program offers step-by-step instructions and hands-on skills for a variety of late stage care needs, all based on Positive Approach
® techniques to help care partners handle even the trickiest of care tasks and reduce their risk of injury.
Learn:
- How to calmly get a person out of bed while protecting your back
- How to safely transfer a person from bed to wheelchair
- How to best transfer a person from bed to wheelchair using a SARA lift
- How to bathe and dress a person in bed while protecting their dignity
- How to assist with eating and drinking using the most compassionate care techniques
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How to Connect with a Resting Person Living with Late Stage Dementia |
Run Time: Approx. 115 minutes
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Providing a Setting for Multiple (or Magical) Engagement
by Kathryn Walsh, PAC Mentor Trainer
For the past four years, it has been my privilege to be a care partner w
ith a very special
lady named Annie. We are so fortunate to live in Manhattan, right in the heart of NYC, as there are many wonderful engagement programs for us to attend. There are programs focusing on museums, art making, music, horticulture classes and more; all geared toward participation by PLWD (People Living With Dementia) and their care partners.
When I met Annie, she was an Emerald but as her journey has moved along, we have found some of the programs a bit more challenging for her and others on similar journeys. There simply aren't as many programs for Ambers, Rubies, and Pearls as there are for Sapphires, Diamonds, and Emeralds. Then, in 2015, we found IT! We found an amazing program for us and many others. It is a Social Tea Dance sponsored by an inspired group called
Rhythm Break Cares
(RBC).
Once or twice a month, we gather at the RBC ballroom dance studios. We are greeted by a number of very special dance instructors. They serve light refreshments, we gather in a large circle around the room, and then the dancing and fun begins! Continue
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Spotlight on PAC Team Member
Corrie L. Phillips
Marketing Resource Manager/IT Specialist
They say that honesty is the best
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Celebrating 90 years with my grandmother!
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policy, so I'll admit that when I met Teepa Snow I had no idea who she was. I had never given dementia a second thought. I knew that my grandfather had dementia before he passed - but I come from a world where dementia was just something that made older people act differently as they aged. I never realized the impact it was having on families around the world.
Then I met Teepa. I agreed to assist her with some scheduling and administration on a part-time basis. It didn't take long for me to recognize that her message was changing lives and I knew I wanted to be a part of the movement. I wanted to learn more. I wanted to find a way to bring awareness to people of all ages.
Now, almost four years have passed and I cannot imagine myself anywhere else. I spend my days in the center of the Positive Approach
® team, studying under Teepa and the PAC Mentors to build my trainer, coach, and consultant skills. W
ith over 20 years experience in administration and technology, I use my talents and abilities to bring Teepa's Positive Approach® to people all over the world. My goal is to connect people, wherever they are, with the resources they need to live better lives with dementia.
You can help too! Share the articles you read in the Online Dementia Journal with friends and loved ones. Connect and share with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, and Google+ - and if you make it to an event where Teepa is speaking, stop by and say "Hi." YOU are the reason we do what we do!
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The Art of Talking In Dementia
by
Rachel Mortimer, PAC Trainer
"But what can we talk about?" To
start a conversation with someone who has communication challenges is difficult. Often we default to "Do you remember when...." and of course for many with dementia, the answer to that will be no. We need to create a space where
response
is the focus, not remembering; giving people an opportunity to connect with each other and the world around them.
Ignite is the tool that UK-based social enterprise
Engage & Create
has created to do just that.
The Ignite Programme was developed after founder Rachel Mortimer spent hundreds of hours observing and trying different ways of connecting with people at all stages of dementia. Of course the later the dementia the more difficult communication becomes, but true connection is possible. With the right technique and appropriate stimulus amazing moments can happen.
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Working Towards Dementia Competence
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Congratulations to these folks who attended the PAC Engagement Leader Certification Workshop in Atlanta!
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Horticultural Therapy
by Beth Bruno, Life Enrichment Centers Adult Day Health Care
The horticultural therapy program at
Life Enrichment Center Adult Day Health Care
has been going strong for 4 years. It began as my internship during the final semester of my year-long certificate program with the
Horticultural Therapy Institute
. When I completed my internship I submitted a program proposal to the executive director and she hired me to be the full-time horticultural therapist.
The first thing I did was get busy making the garden a place where we could engage with plants - and one another - in ways that are meaningful and enriching. We added several raised bed gardens with wide walkways for easy access. We planted a wildflower meadow, installed a butterfly garden, added a shady arbor as a gathering place, and created water gardens on the patios. The participants are involved in every aspect of raising the flowers and vegetables in our gardens, from choosing what we will grow, to starting the seeds, re-potting, transplanting, fertilizing, watering, weeding, and ultimately, harvesting. Continue
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The Unseen Gifts of Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia
by Wendy Chanampa, PAC Trainer
"To love a person is to learn the song that is in their heart and to sing it to them when they have forgotten."
Written by Arne Garborg (1851-1924)
This quote has hung on my wall for several years, and has long been my inspiration. It is the catalyst and grand influence behind this book.
My favorite lesson is learning to walk in love and acceptance in the company of the person with dementia. As we meet them exactly where they are...learning to lay down our own agenda and live in their world is not easy, but definitely worth the effort. Once experienced and understood, life changes can take place. Learning to simply "be" with someone with dementia can be very enjoyable. Old connections can be reestablished and new ones created through all stages of the disease. The relationship will be different but may become a precious treasure.
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Upcoming Events
July 20, 2016
Educational Day
Mississauga, ON
July 26, 2016
14th Annual Lucy and John Caddell Alzheimers Conference
Decatur, AL
July 29, 2016
Educational Day
Wilmington, NC
August 4, 2016
Educational Day
Richmond, MI
August 5, 2016
Atlanta Dementia Education Network Meeting
Sandy Springs, GA
August 8, 2016
LeadingAge Tennessee 2016 Annual Conference
Franklin, TN
August 11, 2016
A Day With Teepa
Indianapolis, IN
August 13, 2016
The Canterbury-Beeson Forum On Aging
Birmingham, AL
August 29, 2016
2016 THCA/TNCAL Convention
Knoxville, TN
August 30, 2016
Educational Day
Thomaston, GA
September 23, 2016
Educational Day
St. Louis, MO
October 31, 2016
Gerontology Conference, 4th Annual
Des Moines, IA
November 23, 2016
Educational Day
Lincoln, UK
November 26, 2016
Educational Day
Bridgend, South Wales, UK
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Book your event today for staff training, family nights, professional referral source events, or refresher workshops
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Introducing a new opportunity from Teepa and the Pines of Sarasota Education and Training Institute
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Lifetime Online Video Viewing Is Now Available
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Upcoming PAC Certification Events
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PAC Training increases awareness, knowledge, and confidence among care staff and educates resident families.
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Positive Approach Partners
with
Levenson & Associates
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Subscribe to Teepa's
e-newsletter
subscription
Concise Informative Compelling
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A "Diamond" Music Moment with Mary Sue
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The first time I met Elizabeth she was grumpy, a perpetual scowl painted on her face. But after our first time singing together, she told me a story.
Elizabeth said, "My dad died when I was young and my mom was left with just us three girls. Every night we would sing. We were so poor we didn't have enough money for a piano. But we sang and we sang and it helped get us through that time and lifted our spirits."
Elizabeth comes to singing almost every time now - and she tells me this story almost every time, too. I never mind hearing it again.
Mary Sue Wilkinson is the founder of Singing Heart to Heart and the author of "Songs You Know By Heart: A Simple Guide for Using Music in Dementia Care", from which this Music Moment is an excerpt. The book includes contributions from Teepa Snow as well as Mary Sue's CD of 18 favorite sing along songs. Buy the book
HERE
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Check out this great training combo!
Together, these titles are the perfect combination to license and incorporate into any internal training program for your staff.
(
All DVD content is intended for individual use only. If you are interested in multiple party viewings or licensing of this content for use in your training services, please contact our licensing team for further information).
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