Is your loved one with dementia starting to stink because they refuse to take a bath? Today I’m going to share with you some ways to increase the ways to help increase their cleanliness (and reduce the stink) without having to force them to bathe...at least not just yet.

Hi, my name is Natali Edmonds, I’m a board certified geropsychologist and this is Careblazers blog. 

If you would rather watch a video on this topic, click here.

The ultimate goal is for your loved to bathe. BUT if your loved one currently won’t bathe, refuses to bathe, or puts up a fight with bathing, then every attempt you do to force them to do that is just another situation where you associate bath time with something negative and both of you end up upset. 

Rather than trying to get someone who doesn’t want to bathe to just accepting a shower or bath without fighting (which I’m guessing isn’t working for you), I want to offer you some...

How do you respond when your loved one with dementia says, “I want to go home” when in fact they are already home? 

If you’ve ever tried to tell them that they are already home then chances are they’ve become upset, or anxious, and maybe even started to pack their bags to leave. 

What can you do in these situations to avoid making things worse and hopefully even bring some peace to your loved one. 

If you would like to watch a video on this topic, click here.

Hi, my name is Natali Edmonds, I’m a board certified geropsychologist and this is the Careblazers blog. Before we get started I want you to know that my Care Course opens for enrollment today. It’s the last time to join this year and  the last time to join at this price. Join now so you can get some help getting through the holidays and the rest of your caregiving journey without the guilt and overwhelm you are currently feeling. Click the...

Have you ever tried to understand what your loved one with dementia was saying or why they were doing a certain behavior? And did your attempt to respond end up backfiring like you or your loved one got MORE upset by your attempt to help them? Today I’m going to share with you a simple 4 step process to help you stop the arguing from happening.

You may have had the experience of your loved one saying or doing something that doesn’t make sense. The 4 step process I’ll share with you today will help you improve your communication with your loved one with dementia so that instead of arguing when your loved one says or does something that you find challenging, you can actually have a meaningful connection with them. 

If you would rather watch a video on this topic, click here.

I’m going to break down the 4 steps of communication and then give you an example of how this would look in a real life caregiving situation. 

The 4...

So your loved one was diagnosed with dementia..Now what?

What are some of the top tips to consider when your first starting out?

If you are like 90% of the people I work with, you probably received a diagnosis and a good luck wish without much else to help you on your caregiving journey. 

In today’s video I go over 4 tips to help you move in the right direction after your loved one is diagnosed with dementia AND, tip #4 I have a feeling will be THE MOST helpful to you because it’s going to come from other Careblazers. Don’t miss that. 

If you would rather watch a video on this topic, click here.

Here are my 4 tips: 

1. Educate yourself.

This can be overwhelming. Many careblazers tell me they stopped looking into information because it was too hard to see what is coming in the future. This is totally understandable and okay! But, do what you can to give yourself the basic knowledge of what the disease is and what may be...

Welcome back, Careblazer!

A few months ago I was talking to one of my Care Course members. She was asking for my input on how to stop her husband from ruining things. She gave some examples like he recently put a thermal coffee mug in the microwave to warm up and it ruined the mug. He put the wrong type of fluid in the car engine. He tried to open the car door while they were driving. So not only are these things that can cause damage to items, as you can see these are also things that can cause harm to your loved one or others such as microwaving things that can’t be microwaved, working with heavy machinery and trying to get out of a moving car.

It can sometimes be hard to come up with ideas for how to respond to these events especially if you’ve been with your loved one for a long time and you are used to them being independent and doing things on their own. You may even struggle to find ways to put limitations in place because you don’t want to...

Today's post is inspired by an amazing Careblazer inside of my Care Course. She was struggling with not going to a family member's wedding out of town because her husband with dementia has a really hard time when she’s away. This Careblazer has left her husband with other family members in the past, things went horribly and she prefers to not leave her husband for extended periods of time. 

The problem is that many family members don’t agree with her decision. They feel she should come to the wedding anyway. 

Have you ever been in that situation? Where you made a decision about how to handle caregiving and other people disagreed with you or questioned you? 

If you would rather watch a video on this topic, click here.

This Careblazer basically asked me how can she handle situations when other family members don’t agree with her decisions. She doesn’t want to upset the other people... she really wants them to...

Welcome back Careblazer! 

Many of you are faced with the possibility of placing your loved one in a care facility. Perhaps you already have, you plan to, or you are currently weighing your options. None of us become a Careblazer and wish to place our loved ones in a facility. In fact, it’s probably the opposite. You may have promised yourself or your loved one that you will NEVER place your loved one in a care facility, that you will keep them at home forever or for as long as you can.

But as many of you are aware, there are so many things that happen on this long road of caregiving and for some people placing their loved one in a facility is the best option or the only option. There is no judgement here. I think for some people it’s a great idea and for others it’s not. 

Here is what today’s post is going to talk about. I want to talk about the 3 things you need to keep in mind when you decide your loved one has to be placed. And for...

Do you know what type of dementia your loved one has?

There are a variety of different types of dementia. Some people have been given the specific type of dementia, some have been given multiple types of dementia, and some may have just been told that they have “dementia” with no other specifics. 

In today’s post, I want to chat about how healthcare professionals determine what type of dementia someone has and some of the challenges that get in the way of getting that diagnosis. 

If you would rather watch a video on this topic, click here.

If you're looking for information on how dementia is diagnosed in the first place, you’ll want to check out THIS video.

If you’re looking for a video on what’s the difference between dementia and alzheimer’s you can check out the very first video I ever did on this channel right here.

Okay, so on to today’s video. How do doctors even determine what type of...

Hello Careblazers!

Today I want to talk about a very important distinction when it comes to responding to a “difficult dementia behavior". This can be the difference between your loved one continuing to engage in the behavior even more often or getting them to greatly reduce their behavior. 

If you would rather watch a video on this topic, click here.

I was reviewing a book recently. I read it before, but I wanted a refresher and this just popped out to me. I can’t believe I haven't shared this before. It’s wonderful and I’ll link the book here if you want to check it out yourself.

I’m going to share the difference between ignoring a behavior and acknowledging a behavior and how ignoring a behavior will likely make it worse. Then, I’ll share the 3 steps you can take to make sure you aren’t contributing and reinforcing a difficult behavior. You’ll want to stay tuned to the end so you can learn how...

Today I want to talk about my 3 step response to use when someone with dementia is anxious, scared, or upset and you’re not sure what to do.

If you would rather watch a video on this topic, click here.

We often refer to these behaviors as “difficult dementia behaviors” because they are difficult for you or because you aren’t sure how to respond. Sometimes your responses seem to make it worse and you wish the behavior would just stop. It’s also difficult for your loved one because they are very clearly in distress. What we call a "difficult" or "challenging behavior" is a sign that your loved one is in distress. 

Here are 3 steps to keep in mind whenever you are faced with this situation. Also, be sure to head to my “difficult dementia behavior” playlist that has multiple videos on specific strategies and approaches to prevent or lower the chances of these episodes from happening in the future. Those will...