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Forget-Me-Not Spotlight: “It’s All in Your Approach” DVD

by Margaret Daley | March 26, 2018

Forget Me Not

Forget-Me-Not Spotlight

“It’s All In Your Approach”
With Teepa Snow
DVD from Pines Education Institute of S.W. Florida

A review by Shannon Nosbisch, C.D.P., co-founder of Effingham Area Alzheimer’s Awareness

Teepa Snow, a nationally known dementia care specialist hosts this DVD about caring for someone living with dementia. She discusses techniques that families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals can use to communicate with and care for a person living with dementia. Some of her main points include:

• Caregivers can often unknowingly cause a negative reaction or behavior (agitation or aggression) by their actions.
• Being “right” doesn’t necessarily translate to a good outcome for both of you.
• Use supportive communication, not confrontational communication.
• Empathize and validate when a person living with dementia is upset.
• Try adjustments in caregiving strategy to help challenging behaviors, instead of turning to anti-psychotic medications immediately.
• Let go of the past; go with the flow and live in the present.

Throughout this DVD, Teepa discusses these points and gives examples of how to apply her approach when caring for a person living with dementia, especially helping with their personal care or daily routine.
She discusses her 3-step problem solving process: a. Know the person you are caring for. b. Build caregiver skills and education. c. Create and control the environment.
She also discusses the four sensitive zones of the body for a person living with dementia, the importance of the right touch, why understanding vision changes in a person living with dementia is so important, and the importance of pain management. Interspersed in this DVD, Teepa shows the changes in the brain structure in a person living with dementia compared to a person without dementia and why it is important to understand what is happening to the brain.

This DVD is a little over 2.5 hours of instructional and educational information that is invaluable to caregivers and families of people living with dementia in any situation. It is
broken up into 2 parts and can be watched in shorter periods. “It’s All In Your Approach” will enable caregivers and families to adapt their own behavior to increase their confidence and successfully care for a person living with dementia.

This resource is available at the Effingham Public Library, Flora Public Library, Evans Public Library, Newton Public Library, Greenup Township Public Library, Shelbyville Public Library and the Mattoon Public Library in the Forget-Me-Not Resource Center. If you do not have a library card, ask at the main desk how you can check it out.