Caring for a loved one with dementia: A mindfulness-based guide for reducing stress and making the best of your journey together

Caring for a loved one with dementia: A mindfulness-based guide for reducing stress and making the best of your journey together is a 200-page guide to supporting those who support people with dementia. Written by a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in bringing new, innovative solutions to the field of dementia care, this book offers a mindfulness-based dementia care (MBDC) program to help caregivers meet their own needs and lower their own stress levels while caring for a loved one. The author offers strategies she used herself while caring for her own mother.

In the first part of the book, readers will learn more about dementia and which professionals to turn to for more help. The connection between dementia care challenges and stress are explored along with the way in which mindfulness can benefit the caregiver. Basic mindfulness practices are discussed along with the importance of acknowledging grief. Readers will also learn how to integrate mindfulness into communication and response to challenging situations. Self-care and the fruits that can be reaped from this program are discussed.

Interested? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu to check it out or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Mobile App Monday - GreyMatters: Reaching Beyond Dementia

"GreyMatters is a tablet application that aims to improve quality of life for people with dementia and their caregivers. Through an interactive life storybook, paired with music & games, the app helps patients and families preserve yesterday’s memories, as well as share today’s joyful moments. With a strong belief that people with dementia are "still here," GreyMatters taps into the abilities that remain to keep individuals engaged and connected." -iTunes

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id900645661

Mobile App Monday - CareSync

Caring for a loved one? With CareSync, you can enter information before doctor visits, share relevant summaries with your loved one's doctors, and find out what happened after the visit. You can also:

• Access complete medical record when you need it the most.
• Medication: Track meds, blood pressure, glucose, weight, & more.
• Prepare for appointments: Organize questions and send information to doctors in advance.
• Get more out of appointments: Manage tasks, documents, photos, and even voice recordings at the visit.
• And more

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id635439202

The mindful caregiver: Finding ease in the caregiving journey

The Mindful Caregiver highlights two major approaches to help transform the journey: adopting a practice of mindfulness, which helps caregivers become more self-aware and fully present with the person with whom they are caring, and honoring “the spirit-side” of caregiving which offers new ways of connecting to one another. These approaches take into account not just the needs of the care recipient, but also the needs of the caregiver and other people in his/her life. -book description

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Mobile App Monday - CareZone

Need help staying organized with the care of yourself or a loved one? CareZone can make it easier. This app simplifies medication management and lets you coordinate tasks and share updates with family members or caregivers.

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id829841726

Mobile App Monday - About My Day

About My Day allows caregivers, family members and health-care professionals to make notes about the daily events and experiences of an individual with whom they are working throughout the day. This app is designed to replace paper journals that are often carried in a binder by the individual as a means of sharing information among family and support workers who work with that person.

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id769044077

Mobile App Monday - CareMonster

CareMonster supports families caring for a loved one. Families use it to tell everyone when they visit, when they plan to visit and how the visit went. No more guessing and no more overlapped visits. The app can help reduce stress and simplify coordination and communication.

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/caremonster/id703761701?mt=8

Evidence-based practice and intellectual disabilities

Evidence-Based Practice and Intellectual Disabilities responds to the recent increased focus on, and need for, the use of evidence-based practice (EBP) in treating intellectual disabilities The book is not only for professionals working in community services but for clinicians and parents and carers as well.

It is the first book wholly dedicated to addressing EBP specifically in relation to intellectual disabilities and provides clinical guidelines based on the strength of evidence of treatments for a given problematic behavioral topography or disorder. -from the book description

Want to learn more about it? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu to check it out or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's: An Emotional Journey

Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's: An Emotional Journey offers insight, hope, and understanding for anyone who cares for a loved one with Alzheimer's. There are currently no treatments to halt the progression of this disease, making caregiving both essential--and difficult. The video discusses topics such as:

• Caring for one who doesn't remember your name
• Grieving the losses of their life, and yours
• When an unexpected side of your loved one comes out
• When it feels like your love no longer helps
• And more

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Mobile App Monday - About My Day

About My Day allows caregivers, family members and health-care professionals to make notes about the daily events and experiences of an individual with whom they are working throughout the day. This app is designed to replace paper journals that are often carried in a binder by the individual as a means of sharing information among family and support workers who work with that person.

Want to learn more about it? Please visit:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/about-my-day/id769044077?mt=8

Early Intervention Every Day!

Want help with everyday activities that will continue early intervention strategies for young children with special needs? Pick up Early Intervention Every Day!: Embedding Activities in Daily Routines for Young Children and Their Families. The book is packed with research-based strategies for helping parents and caregivers take an active role in young children's development.

Interested? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Person-Centered Care in Practice

Person-Centered Care in Practice: Tools for Transformation offers a practical approach to implementing person-centered care, a promising mode for achieving culture change in long-term care settings. This book is based on the authors’ decade-long partnership of research and real-world experience in an elder and dementia care facility and describes a multidimensional model and process of change.

To check out this book, email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Respect: The Joy of Aides

Respect: The Joy of Aides is a documentary exploring the relationship between people with disabilities and their aides. The documentary focuses on Sweeney's unique view on how aides should be hired and directed as employees. Sweeney shows how one becomes friends with aides but also maintains the balance of a professional relationship. This documentary features a comedian and playwright who talks about her own experiences, Sweeney's exploration of relationships with her aides, and you will hear from the people who have worked for both women.

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Mobile App Monday - Community Sidekick

Looking for a way to track the location of someone in your care who wants to be independent? Community Sidekick can help. This app sends an automated email message with a map link to show a person's location providing the caregiver a virtual tour of the trip. It also provides an easy way for the user to send a quick email message to the caregiver or person who is monitoring the trip.

To learn more about this app, visit: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/community-sidekick/id413107872?mt=8

Direct Support Professionals meeting

Direct Support Professionals of Indiana (DSPIN), a new organization creating positive change and building a qualified workforce of direct support professionals, is holding their first Statewide Member Meeting on July 12 at Easter Seals Crossroads, Indianapolis from 10:00-2:00 p.m. All Indiana direct support professionals are invited to attend!

This one‐day meeting will provide opportunities for networking, education and professional development. The meeting is free and you don’t have to be a member of DSPIN to attend. Lunch will be available for $5. Registration is REQUIRED by July 7. For more information, contact JoAnna Moskal at joanna@inarf.org or Shannon Gilbert at sgilbert.mail@gmail.com.

People Planning Ahead

People planning ahead: a guide to communicating health care and end-of-life wishes is a resource for professionals and families by Leigh Ann Creany Kingsbury. The book carefully outlines a comprehensive structure for ensuring that your loved one's wishes are respected by his/her caregivers during times of chronic and terminal illness, or severe disability.

Interested in this book? Indiana resident? Contact us!

Not an Indiana resident? Find this resource at your local library through WorldCat.

That Went Well

That Went Well: Adventures in Caring for My Sister by Terrell Harris Dougan is based on her life and caring for her sister, Irene, who has a cognitive disability from an injury at birth. This memoir begins with her parents decision to keep Irene at home instead of sending her into an institution and the impact that had on the family in the 1950's in Utah. Terrell and her family find humor even in the most difficult times. This story is an honest look into the lifelong relationship of taking care of a sister who has a cognitive disability while caring for her own family.

Interested in this book and live in Indiana?

If not, check WorldCat to see if you local library has it.

I'm Still Here

I'm Still Here: A Breakthrough Approach to Understand Someone Living with Alzheimer's by John Zeisel focuses on connecting with individuals that have Alzheimer's and learning to look at different aspects of their abilities that don't diminish over time. For example, listening to music or viewing art allows individuals to use parts of their brain that still function well. Zeisel also reveals that certain symptoms expressed by the individual with Alzheimer's are not symptoms of the disease but rather a person's reaction to what he calls the "four A's." Agitation, anxiety, aggression and apathy. He shows how caregiver's can have a vibrant and meaningful relationship with individuals that have the disease to have a better quality of life.

Caregiver's Guide to Dementia

What If It's Not Alzheimer's? A Caregiver's Guide to Dementia by Lisa Radin and Gary Radin is a comprehensive guide dealing with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The first part focuses on medical facts including definition and the differences between FTD and Alzheimer's, the second part focuses on the daily care routine, and the last section gives caregiver resources.

Interested? Indiana resident? Contact us!

Not a resident of Indiana? Click here to find this item at your local library.

Support Group for Caregivers

Indiana University-Bloomington's Office for Women's Affairs (OWA) is offering a monthly support group for caregivers of older adults beginning Wednesday, January 28, at the IMU Redbud Room. These sessions will allow you to share with other individuals on campus who are providing care for their aging loved ones. All meetings are from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. You are invited to come for the time you have available. Andrea Maltese, LCSW, will be facilitating the sessions. A beverage service will be provided.

Next meetings
Wednesday, January 28..... IMU Redbud Room
Wednesday, February 25..... IMU Redbud Room
Wednesday, March 25..... IMU Persimmon Room
Wednesday, April 22..... IMU Redbud Room
Wednesday, May 27..... IMU Redbud Room