The Validation Breakthrough with Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with ‘Alzheimer’s-Type Dementia’

 The Validation Breakthrough

The Validation Breakthrough

Simple Techniques for Communicating with People who have ‘Alzheimer’s-Type Dementia’

by Naomi Feil

This book is an outstanding resource for families, friends, neighbors, home health aides, and others working with people with dementia. It presents simple techniques to reduce care-giver burnout and improve the life of the person with dementia

From speaking with Rick Phelps (videos viewable here) and others, I’ve learned that a major complaint of the person who has Alzheimer’s or Dementia is when they’re treated like children.

Once this issue was brought to my attention, I remembered being a culprit to this behavior, myself.  And, may have suggested such behavior in some of my own writings. Mom’s behavior often reminded me of a small child, and I’m sure I often spoke to her in tones meant for a child.

But, I do know–  just because someone has forgotten how to brush their teeth and needs assistance with showering, that doesn’t make them child-like and they shouldn’t be referred to in such a tone. What we sometime forget is that they still see, hear and feel, and this can certainly hurt their feelings.

At last, this book reminds us what we should already know. It teaches us how to stay on an Adult level– regardless of the behavior we’re addressing from the person with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. On an adult level, we are able to tap into where they are, deal with the problems at hand and we all come out better for the experience.

Finally, after reading this book, it’s possible to understand why the person with Alzheimer’s says what he/she says and does what he/she does.  And it’s chock full of examples of real people who have been helped with the author’s techniques.

It shows you how to handle the blaming, accusing, name-calling and the repetitive motions ... And best of all this book explains why the way most of us react to the actions of the person with Alzheimer’s can worsens the situation and cause them to progress to a more advanced stage of Alzheimer’s disease!

This is a must-read if you’re a care-giver or family member of an Alzheimer’s or Dementia patient. It can assist in keeping a positive attitude for the patient and caregiver alike, which always lowers the stress level.

Duplicating my own thoughts about my Mom, it’s been the number one thing I’ve heard from others, “…they wished they had read the book when their parent or loved one was still around.”

——————————————————————————————————-

AARP’s Juggling Work and CaregivingA Spirituality of Caregiving (Henri Nouwen Spirituality)Passages in Caregiving: Turning Chaos into ConfidenceThe Caregiving Wife’s Handbook: Caring for Your Seriously Ill Husband, Caring for YourselfCaregiving: The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss, and RenewalCoping with Caregiving

————————————————