Online Dementia Journal 
Imagine Living in a Pearl State
by Teepa Snow MS, OTR/L , FAOTA 
 
For just a few minutes, try to imagine being in a Pearl state. Perhaps the best way to begin is to consider when you are actually very much in somewhat of a Pearl state each day, or rather night. We pretty much experience many elements of being in a Pearl state when we are in REM sleep. It is when we are immobilized physiologically, and yet we experience a multitude of sensory and movement experiences without really moving. We see things that we are not really looking at and smell or taste things that do not in the moment exist in real place and time.  
 
Now imagine that someone uses intense sensory stimulation to bring you out of it!  
What is Life?
by Reverend Linn Possell, 
PAC Lead Mentor Coach  
   
Even  though  we  cannot  always  see  a  pearl,  we  know  that  they  are  beautiful  and  precious.  As  I  sat  with  my  grandmother  as  a  pearl,  she  taught  me  many  things.  She  taught  me  about  life  and  as  I  sat  with  her  I  wrote  this  poem. 
 
What is life?  
What is life? But to dance to the song of the wind.  
What is life? But to take the hand of a child.  
What is life? But to be still and hear the whisper of rain.  
What is life? But to sit with a friend in need.  
What is life? But to sing with the birds in the tree.
 
What is life? But life eternal.  
Look. And I will be dancing
as the wind blows through the trees.  
Take the hand of a child. 
And I will hold your hand in mine.  
Be still. And I will whisper your name.  
Sit with a friend. And I will sit there too.  
Sing with the birds. And I will sing to you.
Pearls and Chocolate Brownies
by Loy Campbell, MS, OTR/L
PAC Trainer and Mentor
 
Think about your favorite food in the world. If calories were no object, what would you eat every day? For me, it's a double chocolate brownie (with chocolate fudge melted on top). Now imagine, if you can, that you are living as a Pearl (or what the non - Positive Approach® to Care (PAC) world would call "end stage dementia"). You require assistance to complete all daily activities, including eating. Fortunately, you have a care partner who has PAC skills and is assisting you using Hand-under-Hand® (HuH®) to eat your favorite food.  New advance directives in New York were developed allowing a person without dementia to determine for their future self, if they were to develop dementia, what their choices would be. These advance directives determine what to do in the event they are unable to feed themselves, and form words explaining their choices regarding whether or not to feed them.
 
June 14-21 is National Nursing Assistants Week!
Being a nursing assistant  requires patience, perseverance, and passion. We celebrate nursing assistants with a special offer on an essential resource to assist everyday care:
 
 
This set of eight laminated cards with a holder is the ideal way to remember and utilize essential Positive Approach® to Care techniques. Nursing assistants constantly give others a helping hand, and  they  deserve a hand, too!

 
 
Buy 2 or more Care Partner Skill Card sets, save $3 on each set with Coupon Code ODJJUNE18
Valid through 7/15/18
U.S. and Canada only
Using Visual and Audio for Dementia Communication
by Laurie Scherrer, Blogger
 
For many  of  us  living  with dementia,  conversations  can  be  difficult. Reduced  auditory processing  functions and  competing  noises  often  cause  a  breakdown in  information processing.  As  we  regularly  struggle  with  a  delayed  processing  time,  we  rely  on  visual  skills  to  assist in  understanding.  Eye  contact  and  being  able  to  see  the  speaker's  lips  moving  are  important  tools  for  communicating.  During  telephone  conversations  words  and  meanings  easily  become  misinterpreted  or  totally  lost. 
 
When  our  visual  connection  is  absent  we  may  "fill-in  the  gaps"  with  what  we  assumed  was  said  or  we  may  forget  all, or  part  of  the  conversation. In  our  world  of  technology  there  are  many  resources  available  to  replace  an  audio  only  telephone  and  improve  communication.
 
Lauren with a Side of Lewy 
Perspectives of Living with Lewy Body Dementia 
by Lauren U, PAC Core Team 
 
I recently  had  a  dentist  appointment.  The  office  has  only  known  me  with  LBD (Lewy  Body  Dementia).  They  are  a  nice  group  of  people  who  have  adapted  to  and  accommodated  me. 

I  casually  mentioned  something  about  a  "job," referring  to  my  creative  idea  for  a  new  dental-friendly  product.  They  heard  "job" and  looked  at  me,  puzzled. Their  look  of  surprise  took  me  by  surprise. They were  appropriately and genuinely  interested.  "You're  working  now?  What  kind  of  job?"

Occupational Therapy (OT) Excitement in Salt Lake City 
by  Debi Tyler, OTR/L, 
PAC Client Relationship Director

In mid-April, Mary and Debi  from  Positive Approach® to  Care (PAC) traveled to Salt  Lake City for the annual American Occupational Therapy Association Conference.
 
Our  goal  was  to  connect  with  the  6,000  plus  attendees  with  interest  in  dementia  care  and  share  some  of  the  resources  Positive  Approach®  has  to  offer.  Once  our booth  was  all  set  up  and  looking  snazzy,  we  wandered  around  to  some  of  the  other  exhibitors  to  see  what  products  and  resources  might  be  of  interest.  What  an  array  of  interesting  things!  

Where Do Families Go From the Discussions of the Problems with Dementia to Solutions
by Louis Levenson, Attorney  
 
Step One: Why are you calling a lawyer?
 
Something that perplexes and often frustrates lawyers and judges when contacted to deal with the legal ramifications of aggressive (fast) or progressive (slow) dementia in a family member is this: the need for the family to articulate a goal, more specifically, a legal goal. Lawyers are not medical practitioners and cannot prescribe anything but legal "Band-Aids." Perhaps the goal would be to get the lawyer to help with goal formation and management of expectations. 
"A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are."
-Ara Parseghian
Certified Independent Coaches take PAC's dementia care knowledge and skills to the next level by helping to change what is happening out there in the field.

You can help care partners up their game by improving their skills in Positive Physical Approach™, Hand-under-Hand®, and GEMS® Identification.
 
Upcoming Coach Dates:
July 26-27 in Denver, CO
August 16-17 in Chelsea, MI 
 
 

For more information, please visit

For questions, please contact the
PAC Certification Coordinator,
via email or by phone at 678 772 0958.
The Other PPA 
by Clarke Pollard, Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Support Network and PAC Mentor
 
For those involved with Positive Approach® to Care (PAC) the acronym for Positive Physical Approach™ is PPA™. However, to many neurologists and speech-language pathologists PPA means something entirely different, namely: Primary Progressive Aphasia. 

Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) in Brief: 
  • First described by Dr. Arnold Pick and Dr. Paul Serieux in 1892-93
  • Framed as primary progressive aphasia in the 1980s by Dr. Marsel Mesulam
  • Uncommon syndrome primarily affecting language



June 2018 
In This Issue
Webinars Now Available 
On-demand

 
Recognizing signs of someone living in a Pearl state should signal a shift in our support and care, but this final transition can be very difficult to manage. The first half of this session will focus on awareness, knowledge, and skills that can help us know that we are truly learning the art of letting go, not giving up, as the person begins to leave this life. The second half will help us seek to find pleasure in the experience of being with the person as the long journey is ending and a life is completed. 
 
There are at least five different approaches to care support for all of us. When someone is living with dementia, advocacy starts by helping to figure which system of care is best for a person. Part of it is based on who they were and what they wanted for themselves, but other pieces involve what the person is indicating they want at this time, who can provide the support that is desired, what the environment will support, what the possible and probable outcome would be, and the amount of risk the person and support system is willing to take. It's time to talk about it all. This session is designed to do so.
   
Click here to view
the library of 
on-demand webinars

Upcoming Events
Close-up top-view photo of calendar with a datum circled by young woman with red nails with a back marker, concept of time management at work 
 
June 21, 2018
Minneapolis, MN
 
June 25, 2018
Richland, WA
 
July 2, 2018
United Kingdom
 
July 2, 2018
United Kingdom
 
July 11, 2018
United Kingdom
 
July 16, 2018
Oakmont, PA
 
July 19, 2018
Baltimore, MD
 
July 20, 2018
Baltimore, MD
 
July 24, 2018
Highlands Ranch, CO
 
July 25, 2018
Storm Lake, IA
 
July 25, 2018
Live on YouTube
 
July 26, 2018
Denver, CO
 
July 30, 2018
Seattle, WA
 
August 1, 2018
Virtual Event
 
August 2, 2018  
  PAC Trainer Certification
Boston, MA
 
August 6, 2018
Howell, MI
 
August 8, 2018
Educational Day
Evansville, IN
 
August, 13, 2018  
Teepa's Knowledge Intensive: Workshop 3
San Diego, CA
 
August 14, 2018
San Diego, CA
 
August 16, 2018  
  PAC Coach Certification
Chelsea, MI
 
August 22, 2018  
  PAC Trainer Certification
Sherwood Park, AB
 
August 27, 2018
Educational Day
Baltimore, MD
 
August 28, 2018
Educational Day
Carrollton, GA
 
August, 30, 2018
PAC Trainer Certification
Denver, CO
 
 


Now Accepting Submissions

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Do you have a story to share?

Your stories help us learn and
grow. We cannot do what we do without you!

This is an open invitation to all people living with dementia, care partners, and professionals.
 
Contact us today if you would like to submit an article or video for the
Online Dementia Journal. 

 
Book your event today for staff training, family nights, professional referral source events, or refresher workshops .
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Upcoming Events:

October 17th, 2018
SAVE THE DATE!
Bloomington, IN
 
 
PAC Training increases awareness, knowledge, and confidence among care staff and educates resident families.
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877-877-1671 
or 
 
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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