Resources
Content with Target Audience Family Members or Friends .
Resources
Creative Therapies for Loved Ones with Dementia
While dementia does not yet have a cure, there are ways to treat and soothe a person with dementia’s symptoms and make their potential anxiety, stress, moods and challenging behavior easier to manage. If you’re a caregiver for a loved one with dementia, the creative arts are a great option to consider when it comes to supportive therapies. The arts can help engage your loved one’s attention in something stimulating often soothing, while giving them a way to express their emotions and thoughts in a way they may struggle to do verbally. The arts can also be beneficial for loved ones with both intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and dementia, who may be experiencing increasing challenges in expressing themselves and confidently building and practicing skills using other means.
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When Caregiving Affects Your Relationships
There is no question that caregiving takes dedication. Your time, effort, emotions and mental headspace are all invested in this important role. Giving of yourself for the sake of someone else can be a beautiful thing. However, it can leave you without as much time or energy as you would like to take care of not only yourself, but your relationship with others.
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Barriers to Older Adults Remaining Social: Lessons Learned From the Pandemic
Social isolation has always been a common issue for older adults, but became even more recognizable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past few years, we have seen the negative effects of loved ones being kept alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, extended periods of social isolation have resulted in an uptick in hospitalization of older adults due to health concerns, and an increase in depression and anxiety disorders across all ages, especially in older adults. Pandemic restrictions contributed to stress level hitting an all-time high, while at the same time lowering access to the social supports older adults and caregivers rely on for respite and building social connections.Â
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The Policy of Developing a Quality Workforce in Long Term Care
Learn as we discuss the intersection of policy, staffing, and workforce issues in long term care. Presented in partnership with the Elder Justice Coalition, Robyn Stone, Senior Vice President, Research and Co-Director at Leading Age, weprovide insight into current and future issues related to the needs of our aging society.
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Recognizing the Symptoms of Dementia with IDD
Diagnosing dementia is rarely straightforward, but can be even more challenging for those in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) community. Many of the most common symptoms of dementia such as language challenges and difficulty with coordination are often things people with IDD already struggle with. This can make it all the more difficult to separate symptoms of dementia from their pre-existing symptoms.
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