How to Communicate with Alzheimer's
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by Susan Kohler
Price: $17.95
Book Website: http://www.grpublishing.com
138 Pages, Paperback, Select Trim Size
ISBN-13: 978-0-9753160-5-4
Communicating with Loved Ones Who Have Dementia
Caregivers report "communication difficulties" contribute significantly to the stress and burden of caring for persons with dementia. Susan Kohler, MS, CCC-SLP, licensed speech pathologist, shares her experience and knowledge of communication strategies in caring for this population in her new book, How to Communicate with Alzheimer's, A Practical Guide and Workbook for Families. Readers will learn about the communication process, why it is so important in care-giving, the problems in communication, and useful techniques to facilitate communication. Susan offers many creative ideas, solutions and practical strategies to help families build a healthy foundation of care. The final section of the book is a generous resource chapter with websites and phone numbers of where to go for support and help. Space is provided to keep track of information, make notes and jot down ideas. The reader learns and discovers topics for conversation, how to make personal histories and activities to do at home. There is even a section full of jokes and song lyrics. Throughout the book are compelling photographs of the elderly and their families by Lori Burkhalter-Lackey, best known for her work in When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple.
About The Author
Susan Kohler is a licensed/certified Speech-Language Pathologist, currently affiliated with Santa Monica/UCLA Medical Center. She has worked "in the trenches" with the elderly population in hospitals, home and adult day health care settings for over 15 years. Her experience with Alzheimer's and dementia has gained her recognition in lecturing and training on the subject of
communication with this population, including published work and a training video on communicating with the cognitively impaired. Susan is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild and works professionally as an actress and singer. She credits those artistic skills with giving her permission to be "creative" in therapy--using music, improvisation--all and anything to facilitate
human connection in a genuine and meaningful way.
Reviews
Your wonderful, wonderful, book! I am just knocked out by this book. It is just what I need. It has been so helpful for me and I am passing it along to my family. It's great! Everyone is benefiting around my Dad."
Diane Stilwell Weinberg, Caregiver
During the time that I cared for my mother, her inability to understand her confusion at not being able to communicate her needs, her fears, her feelings were a constant source of frustration for me. How I wished for some help! This book will help to fill a void in the literature of Alzheimer's caring-
Judy Wunsch, Former Caregiver and Director of
Volunteers Alzheimer's Association,
Los Angeles, San Bernardino Counties
Taking care of persons with Alzheimer's disease can be very challenging. The emphasis of good communication is vitally important as demonstrated in this book. Ms. Kohler has taken the complexity of caring for Alzheimer's patients and broken it down to simple, flexible strategies to improve the care of these individuals. It certainly will improve their lives as well as the lives of their caretakers."
Roger M. Lee, M.D.
Santa Monica/UCLA Medical Center
Effective communication between a loved one with dementia and his or her spouse, adult child or relative, clearly reduces the burden of care and extends the quality of life for both the person and those in his or her circle of support. This book offers ways to facilitate communication with positive solutions, creative ideas, and sensible strategies that we all must learn to build a healthy foundation of care."
Alison A. Moore, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Division of Geriatric Medicine
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