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Joyful Alzheimer’s Caregiving on Valentine’s Day Published on February 11, 2016
Mike Splaine
Principal at Splaine Consulting
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If you think a loved one with dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease (I’ll abbreviate the latter to AD as I proceed) can’t appreciate Valentine’s Day, think again. As someone who’s spent over 20 years helping professional caregivers find ways to make this day particularly beautiful, I’m also privileged to always get new ideas for “informal caregivers,” the millions of loving individuals nurturing a beloved with AD. Here are some ideas for helping enhance this especially loving holiday. They come from a great conversation with one of Cognitive Solution’s consultants, gerontologist Nancy Schier Anzelmo, MSG. MS: Remind people about the ‘memory’ help we provide regarding AD patients NANCY: We really want to work not on fighting or retraining intellectual memory, but more on emotional memory, [which] is still intact in the brain. We can ignite visions, like helping folks remember grandma’s kitchen when they close their eyes, actually smell whatever she was cooking.
MS: How could Valentine’s Day in particular provide great opportunities for emotional memory enhancement?