Recently, a colleague made me aware of a free, on-line publication about Alzheimer’s, The Alzheimer’s Daily News - http://alznews.org.  I signed up for the daily e-mails with some trepidation.  I wasn’t sure just how much I wanted to know – given my family’s history.  However, I finally decided that knowledge is power and signed up for the newsletter.  Some days the articles make me sad, some days they make me afraid, some days they give me hope and, thankfully, most days they help me cope. 

Yesterday’s edition contained a story about a keynote address presented by Jolene Brackey, the author of Creating Moments of Joy for the Person with Alzheimer's or Dementia.  I thought the advice she offered was some of the best I’ve read and plan to order her book.  Her talk focused on everyday situations and realistic approaches.  One of the best bits was her comment about body language.  Her point is that a person with dementia or Alzheimer’s may not be able to communicate as they have in the past…but that they can still read body language.  Therefore,  it is important for caregivers to convey a relaxed and open posture and positive mood.  What a great idea and something caregivers should try to achieve, although it may take some practice!

To link to the complete article, please click here.

To view the book on Amazon, click here.