Therapeutic Caregiving: A Practical Guide for Caregivers of Persons With Alzheimer's and Other Dementia Causing Diseases

This book is indeed "a practical guide" for not only getting through each day, but also making each one better than it might have been otherwise. The chapters on communication and cueing will help in developing skills that will help make each day more pleasant, as will the chapters on preventing stress and managing problem behaviors. I was especially impressed with the "What If" questions in chapter seven, for example "What if you went to bed and didn't know whether it was nighttime or daytime? What if you woke up from a nap in the afternoon and thought it was time for breakfast? What if you became frightened or lost in a darkened room?" (p. 62)--these questions help us to imagine what it's like for an Alzheimer's patient. All of this, plus the day-to-day, eating, sleeping, hygiene, and even exercise, is covered in this book by Barbara J. Bridges, an RN who spent fourteen years caring for both her parents. I highly recommend this book for all caregivers.

I read this book during the first half of my 9-year caregiving ordeal with an AD parent and found it useful in managing many immediate problems as well as preparing me for the inevitable. The author does not devote questionable space to vitamins, herbs, medications believed by some to retard the progress of the disease but concentrates on the human aspects, looking at things from the afflicted's perspective as much as the caregiver's. A qualified medical professional, she balances practical advice with expressing her own emotions about her personal relationship with her mother. I would have to qualify my endorsement of the book somewhat by observing that the disease can wreak greater havoc, can take a more unpredictable, disturbing course than that suggested by the author's experience, which is perhaps a bit on the "tidy" side. Also, I would have appreciated more specific warnings about the practices of nursing homes as well as suggestions about securing professional medical care for someone with AD, especially when the patient is too sick to go to a physician's office but not sick enough to be admitted to a hospital. Far too often individuals in this position are treated only for "behavioral" problems (ie. sedating drugs) at the expense of their overall health and physical condition.

It says right up front that this is not a book about caring for the caregiver; this one focuses on the patient with dementing illness in an almost businesslike fashion. It's a refreshing approach. While the patients in the book are relatively advanced in the illness, be aware that the techniques would be especially fruitful if adopted EARLY in the illness -- they create good habits. It was useful to have an insight into the emotional state of a confused episode and to be reminded that the patient truly wants and needs to retain function. The advice is to resist the urge to do everything for them! And the tips show how to help them continue to do for themselves.The techniques are great, though there are far too few examples of "cueing", considering the importance of that particular technique. The reference section or author's web site may address this.A very good book for taking positive action in caring for dementia patients!