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Special Times for Special People
by Teepa Snow MS, OTR/L
,
FAOTA
As we prepare for the closing of another year and as the holidays are approaching, it's a good time to do a check-in! Before we get revved up for a round of holiday activities, festivities, and commitments, consider how your partner is doing, how your support system is functioning, and most importantly, how you are doing.
As dementia progresses and we find our partner is still with us, yet remarkably different, we will want to do more frequent pauses and reassessments of how each of us is looking, sounding, moving, feeling, and doing. Taking a step back and estimating time use, energy use, and satisfaction is critical prior to embarking on old holiday traditional activities, planning additional special events, or gathering large groups of people together for interactions.
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Lauren with a Side of Lewy
by Lauren U, PAC Core Team
I've been struggling a bit to find a topic for this month. So often now I find I have little to say.
My thoughts seem to be erased from my mind. It's not that I am not paying attention or trying to connect, it just takes a level of concentration that is often beyond my reach. The details are less and less important. "I don't care" is in my head more frequently.
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First Annual PAC Conference
Gaining a Positive Approach to Dementia
Dementia is a state of mind
Respect the state I'm in
November 17
th
-19
th
, 2019 will bring the first annual PAC Conference to Raleigh, NC!
M
any of the details are still pending, but be sure to hold the dates. We will let you know when we plan to open registration.
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Meditation
by Linn Possell,
PAC Speaker and Mentor
"A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." Chinese proverb
Recently I spoke to a woman living with dementia about her experience with her community of faith. The story she told is, unfortunately, not unique, but it is one that we need to take notice of and listen to carefully. Her story is that when she had a stroke and needed to be in a wheelchair, she was treated differently in her faith community. No one spoke to her, not even the pastor. When she inquired about this with the pastor, he asked, "What would you like us to say?" That may sound like a simple question, but in fact, it is a sign of a deeper issue.
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The Memory Activity Book
by Helen Lambert,
Occupational Therapist, Cofio Dementia Training
Having qualified as an OT in 1991, I have spent most of my working life in the National Health Service in a variety of clinical settings including mental health and learning difficulties. In 2001, a colleague and I were tasked with creating training for staff working within social care, residential and nursing homes, and home care workers. My passion for dementia care education was born and continues to grow.
In 2016, I made a monumental decision to leave the NHS and set up my own training company, Cofio Dementia Training. (Based in South Wales, "Cofio" is Welsh for "Remember"). This has opened the door to many exciting projects, including writing a book.
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Part One
by Polly Logan, D.D.S.,
PAC Executive Assistant and Publications Administrative Coordinator
As we well know, it can be challenging for many of us in a Sapphire state to remember to brush and floss as much as we should! With the progression of dementia, oral hygiene tasks such as toothbrushing, flossing, mouth rinsing, and denture care become extremely challenging. However, the lack of oral hygiene is only one reason for mouth problems in dementia care. The most commonly seen oral problems in individuals living with dementia are mouth sores, tooth decay and abscess, broken teeth, periodontitis (gum disease), and issues with dentures. Why does this occur?
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by Clarke Pollard, Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Support Network and PAC Mentor
What if there was a pill that would control aggressive and dangerous behaviors of Alzheimers patients? What if this magic pill would take an "agitated, demented patient" and turn them into a little lamb? Wouldn't that be a miracle?
Would it?
Jim was an ironworker in Pittsburgh for 45 years. His hands are cracked and covered in calluses. Since retirement, he has stayed busy working on his home's plumbing and irrigation systems, digging up and moving fruit trees so that they are positioned in their optimal locations in his yard, and working on the transmission of his '67 Stingray.
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Monthly Music Moment
Why you should ask Santa for a ukelele
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Stop in the Name of the
Law!
Dementia in the Courtroom
Coming early in 2019...You have not seen Positive Approach® to Care (PAC) offer this content before!
Often, when dementia enters the picture, independence and ability come into question and can even find their way into the courtroom. Families and those living with dementia can fall apart when finances and legal issues get crowded into the picture with dementia.
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| Dementia in the Courtroom |
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PAC US Public Certifications Program Director 
B
reathing, we all do it...am I right? Obviously, we all breathe, but it turns out that how we breathe and when we do or do not breathe can have a huge effect on many other things going on in our bodies.
So, what happens when we breathe? You bring oxygen into your body, right?
The dictionary definition says that breathing is "the process of taking air into and expelling it from the lungs." So, yes, breathing is the process of moving air into and out of the lungs to bring in oxygen and flush out carbon dioxide. As it turns out, there's so much more going on in our bodies when we inhale and exhale than we can imagine.
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Preparing for an Intergenerational Celebration
by Olivia I. Nolan, Future PAC something, and her mother Beth A. D. Nolan, Ph. D., PAC Research, Grants, and Policy Lead, Mentor, and Speaker
Holidays are a favorite for many families, and ours is no different. My mom says that without time, planning, and lots of patience, they can also be stressful. So, when we planned Thanksgiving with grandpa, we decided that planning was our best weapon against stress and the best way to make a memory. Using Teepa's plan for making visits positive, we laid out our Thanksgiving dinner. The plan pretty much breaks down like this: pre-visit planning, then what to expect and try to do during the visit.
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What You Can Do With the Strength of PAC
by Matthew Christopher, CPTA,
Director of Rehab, PAC Certified Independent Trainer and Coach
The past three years have felt like I have been walking through a fog, looking for a light to guide me or a sign that I was headed the right way, feeling like I was missing something that could help to improve my skill set. Little did I know that the small light that was presented to me in the distance was going to become an inferno in my soul that would bring me to where I am today. Surrounding that inferno that I was drawn to was Positive Approach
to Care (PAC)!
I had been looking for a new direction, something that would give me new skills, and the tools to be able to put them to good use. When the company I work for came to me and asked if I would accept the task of becoming dementia certified to train our staff, little did I know that it was the flame I saw in the distance.
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To Read Is to Voyage Through Time
by Susan Ostrowski,
Director, Reading2Connect
 Parallel to the growing interest in brain fitness, studies on the benefits of recreational reading have been popping up in numerous publications. Research shows that leisurely reading keeps our brains sharp and helps us understand different points of view. If reading is beneficial for adults without cognitive impairment, then we may assume that reading is also beneficial for people living with dementia (PLwD).
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You Asked For It, You Got It!
Need Short and Sweet Training Sessions with PAC Content? It's Here!
Teepa has heard the cries for short in-service trainings that provide Positive Approach® to Care content, so here it is! She has taken time to write up short training session scripts that go along with the
PAC Skills Make the Difference DVD.
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PAC Skills Make the Difference
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Using the Adult Experiential Learning Cycle that our PAC Certified Independent Trainers use, Teepa has created mini-session scripts that will help you get more out of your DVD experience.
This combination of the specific content in
PAC Skills Make the Difference plus Teepa's handcrafted scripts break the 55-minute DVD into 14 sessions. They will be an engaging and impactful use of those 10-20 minute in-services that can otherwise be dull and drab!
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PAC Launches New Education Kits
by Deborah Tyler, OT,
PAC Client Relationship Director
"I have dementia training required for my Memory Care Staff!"
"I have a new employee who needs to have four hours of dementia education by Friday!"
"Do you have quizzes and certificates to go with your videos?"
"I have staff in different locations, and it's hard to get them together to watch any dementia videos!"
These are some of the questions and situations posed regularly to the PAC Team who answers phone and email inquiries. In response to this, PAC developed some Education Kits which are neatly and affordably packaged to contain streaming video content, initial licensing, certificates of completion, pre/post assessments, and additional materials that can be printed for reference; essentially everything a facility or organization might need to do some introductory dementia-awareness work with their staff.
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Working with someone who has only gross motor skills and big movements can frustrate many people, so we still try to use words and gestures, and tasks that have little or no meaning for the person we are trying to help. In this session, we will work on adapting our efforts to better match what we are noticing and offer care in ways that are less confusing, overwhelming, and distressing.
When working with someone in a Ruby state, it is vital to appreciate little whispers, movements, and signals. Creating pleasure will not always result in the BIG win, but it can have some amazing results, when your expectations change. This session will help you consider that option.
In this session, we will explore risk reduction strategies and the test thinking on what we can do to keep our brains as fit and healthy as possible, whether we live with dementia or support others who do so. By the end of this session, there should be at least one thing you can choose to do that could help you maintain your brain.
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Upcoming Events
November 27, 2018
Waterville, OH
November 30, 2018
Lexington, KY
December 4, 2018
Oakville, ON
Warren, MI
December 6, 2018
PAC Trainer Certification
Chicago, IL
December 6, 2018
Educational Day
Okemos, MI
December 10, 2018
Virtual Event
December 11, 2018
Educational Day
Seattle, WA
January 3, 2019
January 22, 2019
San Jose, CA
January 28, 2019
Birmingham, AL
January 28, 2019
Cary, NC
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Let us know how PAC
has helped you!
This is an open invitation to all people living with dementia, care partners, and professionals.
Your stories help us learn and grow. We cannot do what we do without you!
Contact us
today if you would like to submit an article or video for the
Online Dementia Journal.
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November 19 @ 10:30a ET
November 26 @ 2:30p ET
December 3 @ 10:30a ET
December 5 @ 7:00p ET
December 10 @ 3:30p ET
Unable to attend the live event?
Each participant is also given
access to the recording.
Don't delay - sign up today!
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Book your event today for staff training, family nights, professional referral source events, or refresher workshops
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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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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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PAC Training increases awareness, knowledge, and confidence among care staff and educates resident families.
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Click Here to access the
Online Dementia Journal archives!
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