Alzheimer's and Caregivers
Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, which occurs every November, was established to honor the millions of Americans living with Alzheimer’s, through advocacy for a cure, awareness and education.
In addition to raising awareness and supporting those with the disease, Alzheimer’s Awareness Month also reminds us of the importance of caregivers, who are there to help their loved ones as they make the difficult journey ahead. Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's, dementia and memory care can be very challenging for caregivers. The Library is here to help with dementia inclusive programs and materials and caregiver support and education.
Want a meaningful way connect with your loved one? Check out one of the thematic Stories for Life kits from any library branch or the Mobile Library. Each kit was designed and developed by following the principles of person-centered care, which aims to respect the dignity of people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias and reflect their varied interests, life experiences and current abilities.
Plan an outing to one of the Library’s memory cafe programs. Memory Cafes are social gatherings for those who are experiencing early stage dementia, mild memory loss or mild cognitive impairment, and a family member or care partner. They serve as places to have fun, find support, and share experiences. The Library Station hosts a quarterly memory cafe. Please call 417.616.0683 for more information.
Need more information? Try one of these current titles.
If you or a loved one are worried about Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, this pocket guide will help you to better understand the conditions, and how they are diagnosed and treated.
Sabat provides information about Alzheimer's and other dementia diseases, and also discusses the psychological and social strengths possessed by people diagnosed. By identifying and using those strengths, readers can improve the quality of life in non-pharmacological ways.
Culled from sixty blog posts spanning eight years, Tangles and Plaques is a candid account of a mother and daughter's changing relationship as they face the progressive landscape of Alzheimer's Disease together. As the twisted fibers (tangles) build up inside the nerve cells in her brain and the protein fragments (plaques) fill the spaces between those cells, Effie Johnson--like millions of others who suffer from Alzheimer's--loses her memory, the stories that make up the fabric of her life.
When someone in your family suffers from Alzheimer disease or other related memory loss diseases, both you and your loved one face immense challenges. Mace and Robins provide practical and specific advice to make care easier, improve quality of life, and lift the spirits of a family dealing with Alzheimer disease.
Becoming a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer s disease or another neurocognitive disorder can be an unexpected, undesirable, underappreciated, and yet noble role. It is heartbreaking to watch someone lose the very cognitive capacities that once helped to define them as a person. But because of the nature of these disorders, the only way to become an effective caregiver and cope with the role's many daily challenges is to become well-informed about the disease. With the right information, resources, and tips on caregiving and working with professionals, you can become your own expert at both caring for your charge and taking care of yourself. In these pages, Marc Agronin guides readers through a better understanding of the changes their loved one may be going through, and helps them tap into the various resources available to them as they embark on an uncertain caregiving journey. Insisting that a caregiver also maintain his or her own health and well being, Agronin guides caregivers in their efforts to provide care, but to also look to themselves as recipients of care from themselves and others.
The beloved best seller has been revised and expanded for the fifth edition. Jolene Brackey has a vision: that we will soon look beyond the challenges of Alzheimer's disease to focus more of our energies on creating moments of joy. When people have short-term memory loss, their lives are made up of moments. We are not able to create perfectly wonderful days for people with dementia or Alzheimer's, but we can create perfectly wonderful moments, moments that put a smile on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes. The new edition of Creating Moments of Joy is filled with more practical advice sprinkled with hope, encouragement, new stories, and generous helpings of humor.
What every family member of a loved one with dementia needs to know: How to help without sacrificing YOU, delivered in a fast, scannable format, unlike any other Alzheimer's guide, perfect for short-on-time caregivers.
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