For a few years, I have been following a woman named Teepa Snow (yes; coolest name ever). She is THE authority on dementia care and basically a celebrity in the world of Alzheimer’s. The first time I saw one of her videos, I fell in love with the way she teaches caregivers not only HOW to best approach various situations involving dementia/Alzheimer’s in a kind and gentle way, but equally as important, the WHY behind the behaviors that lead to those situations. I truly cannot recommend her videos and website more highly. I love that she calls it The Positive Approach to Care (PAC). Plus, she’s funny, animated, and does very accurate impressions in order to demonstrate the scenarios she’s teaching on.
Thanks to years of acting training, (I’ve often said that doctors should write prescriptions for improv classes for the families and caregivers because it is so much easier to go along with what a person is saying rather than argue and upset them), I was already using many of Teepa’s techniques before I started following her. She is doing a big seminar in North Carolina in November, starting the evening after the Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk where Mitzi’s Team will be represented en masse. All summer, I had been trying to figure out how to make it work to go up and attend this training because I hated the idea of leaving Mitzi. Since that is no longer a factor and since I have much more flexibility in my schedule, I am hoping to get to make the trip up to go. I think it will be invaluable training and I am hoping to have an opportunity to shake Teepa’s hand and thank her for the ways she is improving the lives and well-being of those with the disease and those who are helping to care for them.
As with everything in life, when we can understand each other a little better, compassion is just a natural side effect.
For a phenomenal look at what happens in the brain as it relates to communication and language in someone with dementia, check out Teepa’s video that explains this so well: https://youtu.be/0BlZF_4EKp4.
(For anyone who might be interested, the info on the seminar is available here: teepasnow.com/pac-annual-conference.) ????