Are you ready to have "The Talk" with an aging loved one? Next steps with Cognitive Decline
• Have you noticed changes in behavior and memory in your loved one and want to talk with them about your observations and don’t know where to start? • Are you concerned you’ll upset your loved one if you bring up the subject of dementia? • Are you wanting to talk with other family members about the situation but not sure how to handle their responses? These are just a few of the scenarios Pam Ostrowski, author of It’s Not That Simple: Helping Families Navigate the Alzheimer’s Journey, will discuss during her presentation. Pam will cover the most frequent communications challenges family members face when talking about planning for the future of an aging loved one, from when to start the conversations to possible wording during conversations. Bring your questions to ask Pam so you have real-life takeaways from this valuable webinar. Book Excerpt: Does this sound familiar? You get a call from a family friend or your loved one’s neighbor expressing concern over their repetitive questions, lack of ability to remember words consistently, weight loss, an unclean home, or a lack of personal care, or other behavior changes. You sit down with your loved one and go over this feedback using the “People have been noticing {insert observations here} about you. How do you feel you’re doing?” phrasing so that they don’t get too defensive. Then your loved one says, “I’m fine. You’re just trying to put me away in a home,” or other similar responses. If they live with a spouse or partner, that individual, too, might be resistant to this topic since they know their world is about to change in a very significant way. My answer to the question, “When should we start talking about long-term care?” is, “The sooner the better,” while everyone is healthy and emotions are calmer. Once symptoms start manifesting, you’ll encounter denial, anger, fear, and a host of other unpleasant emotions that can cloud making the right decisions for your loved one. About the Author- Pam Ostrowski There are several books on Alzheimer’s written by doctors, nurses, and even caregivers. However, there are very few books written by a family member who has lived through years of Alzheimer’s decisions, emotions, frustrations, and sadness and wants to share their story. Pam Ostrowski started her journey with her parents in 2001, with little knowledge of the impact Alzheimer’s would have on their lives over the next 14 years. Using her decades’ long background in scientific and technical communications, Ms. Ostrowski was able to find creative ways to communicate with her mother once Alzheimer’s took her speech and instruction processing away in 2008. It also meant that Ms. Ostrowski was immersed into the world of doctors’ appointments, assisted and memory care living, and acting as her mother’s shield and sword, representing her wishes and being her voice along with her father until his passing in 2011. Ms. Ostrowski uses her 30+ years of writing experience to capture the day-to-day life of a person with Alzheimer’s and provides guidance based on her real life experiences in a gentle, relatable way that ensures others will benefit from her knowledge. It is her intent that in writing this book, she helps countless others navigate the rough seas of the Alzheimer’s journey a bit more easily. Ms. Ostrowski has completed her Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) and Certified Dementia Care certifications and currently provides 1 to 1 Alzheimer’s family consulting. This presentation is brought to you by The Summit at Sunland Springs, Assisted Living and Memory Care community, located in Mesa, Arizona. Home to The Enhance Protocol, a treatment that works to rebuild cognitive decline by identifying the root cause.
• Have you noticed changes in behavior and memory in your loved one and want to talk with them about your observations and don’t know where to start? • Are you concerned you’ll upset your loved one if you bring up the subject of dementia? • Are you wanting to talk with other family members about the situation but not sure how to handle their responses? These are just a few of the scenarios Pam Ostrowski, author of It’s Not That Simple: Helping Families Navigate the Alzheimer’s Journey, will discuss during her presentation. Pam will cover the most frequent communications challenges family members face when talking about planning for the future of an aging loved one, from when to start the conversations to possible wording during conversations. Bring your questions to ask Pam so you have real-life takeaways from this valuable webinar. Book Excerpt: Does this sound familiar? You get a call from a family friend or your loved one’s neighbor expressing concern over their repetitive questions, lack of ability to remember words consistently, weight loss, an unclean home, or a lack of personal care, or other behavior changes. You sit down with your loved one and go over this feedback using the “People have been noticing {insert observations here} about you. How do you feel you’re doing?” phrasing so that they don’t get too defensive. Then your loved one says, “I’m fine. You’re just trying to put me away in a home,” or other similar responses. If they live with a spouse or partner, that individual, too, might be resistant to this topic since they know their world is about to change in a very significant way. My answer to the question, “When should we start talking about long-term care?” is, “The sooner the better,” while everyone is healthy and emotions are calmer. Once symptoms start manifesting, you’ll encounter denial, anger, fear, and a host of other unpleasant emotions that can cloud making the right decisions for your loved one. About the Author- Pam Ostrowski There are several books on Alzheimer’s written by doctors, nurses, and even caregivers. However, there are very few books written by a family member who has lived through years of Alzheimer’s decisions, emotions, frustrations, and sadness and wants to share their story. Pam Ostrowski started her journey with her parents in 2001, with little knowledge of the impact Alzheimer’s would have on their lives over the next 14 years. Using her decades’ long background in scientific and technical communications, Ms. Ostrowski was able to find creative ways to communicate with her mother once Alzheimer’s took her speech and instruction processing away in 2008. It also meant that Ms. Ostrowski was immersed into the world of doctors’ appointments, assisted and memory care living, and acting as her mother’s shield and sword, representing her wishes and being her voice along with her father until his passing in 2011. Ms. Ostrowski uses her 30+ years of writing experience to capture the day-to-day life of a person with Alzheimer’s and provides guidance based on her real life experiences in a gentle, relatable way that ensures others will benefit from her knowledge. It is her intent that in writing this book, she helps countless others navigate the rough seas of the Alzheimer’s journey a bit more easily. Ms. Ostrowski has completed her Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) and Certified Dementia Care certifications and currently provides 1 to 1 Alzheimer’s family consulting. This presentation is brought to you by The Summit at Sunland Springs, Assisted Living and Memory Care community, located in Mesa, Arizona. Home to The Enhance Protocol, a treatment that works to rebuild cognitive decline by identifying the root cause.