Living with Dementia

Name: Living with Dementia
SKU: 29920
Price: 35.00 USD
Availability: InStock

ISBN 978-1-932529-92-0
188-minute DVD
© 2011

$35.00

Stock #: 29920 Categories: Alzheimer's/Dementia Care, Assisted Living, Counseling & Support, Nursing Homes Tag: Brilliant Image Productions

Product Description

The way we currently provide care for people with dementia is not only flawed and inadequate but even destructive according to dementia expert G. Allen Power, M.D., in this provocative and instructive video presentation. Dr. Power’s arguments are corroborated by the video’s second featured speaker, Richard Taylor, Ph.D., who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and who speaks candidly about how he would prefer to be treated. From the experienced perspectives of both the provider and the person with the disease, viewers learn what not to do alongside a vision for all that is possible to do to improve the lives of the millions of individuals who will not soon escape the ravages of this debilitating disease.

In the first of three parts, Dr. Power makes the case for a paradigm shift needed in the established model of institutional long-term care. Viewers see documented evidence of the negative outcomes that result from traditional care, including the dangerous practice of “medicating away” the predictably negative reactions that emerge in response to standard care practices and attitudes. In describing a new vision of care, Dr. Power describes how to

redefine the disease to better understand those experiencing it
stop making people with dementia look and act like we do
recast “problem behaviors” as mechanisms for coping and communicating
find new ways to make normal life experiences accessible to people with dementia
create more opportunities for people to feel connected and find meaning day to day
decrease suffering and increase satisfaction using a new “experiential” model of dementia care

In part two, Dr. Taylor, a former psychologist and educator, articulates the needs, fears, and all-too-common negative experiences of a person diagnosed with dementia. He speaks from the heart on behalf of all those who are unable to communicate for themselves and, at the same time, speaks as one unique individual asking to be respected, supported and, most of all, seen and heard. With surprising candor and wit, he presents moving personal stories and sage advice that provide new insight about the experience of the disease to formal and informal caregivers as well as long-term care managers and administrators.

Together, in part three, these two inspiring speakers respond to common questions and concerns, including

how to communicate a person’s preferences to care staff
whether asking for opinions and responses from people with dementia is confusing for them
ways to have better long-distance interchanges with a loved one by phone
whether better care practices can be taught or are essentially innate
and much more

This valuable training tool helps to raise awareness of anyone working in long-term care settings to the remaining potential for people with dementia to lead satisfying and fulfilling lives—with appropriate supports—despite their losses.

Brilliant Image Productions

Brilliant Image Productions serves individuals and institutional customers in the U.S. and abroad. We are a growing video production company located in central Minnesota. We provide full scale video production services in High Definition and Standard Definition. We also do website design and maintenance.

G. Allen Power, M.D.
G. Allen Power, M.D., is a board-certified internist and geriatrician and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester, New York. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine. Dr. Power has practiced medicine for more than 25 years.

As a Certified Eden Alternative Educator, Dr. Power serves as an Eden Mentor at St. John’s Home in Rochester, New York, where he has worked since 2000. He also serves on the board of directors of the Eden Alternative, Inc.

Dr. Power has lectured on geriatric and culture change topics both nationally and internationally. He has been interviewed for print and broadcast media including BBC Television, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and WHYY radio among many others. Dr. Power is also quoted in the book Old Age in a New Age: The Promise of Transformative Nursing Homes by Beth Baker (2007, Vanderbilt University Press).

An accomplished musician and songwriter, Dr. Power’s music has been performed on three continents. His song of elder autonomy, “If You Don’t Mind,” was performed by Peter, Paul and Mary, and Walter Cronkite used his song “I’ll Love You Forever” in a 1995 Discovery Channel documentary on American families.

Richard Taylor, Ph.D.

Richard Taylor, Ph.D., is a retired psychologist who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s-type dementia at the age of 61. He started writing short essays for his own benefit—trying to better understand what was going on inside of him. He sought out others with dementia and began forming online chatrooms, which eventually grew into an international network. Through his writing and other communication efforts, he became a champion for individuals with early-stage and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, speaking regularly throughout the U.S. to avid audiences about the challenges of living with dementia.

Dr. Taylor has been recognized with innumerable awards for his advocacy work and his efforts to give voice to the millions of people living with this disease. He helped to found the Dementia Advocacy and Support Network International (DASNI) and was a moving force in the establishment of the Dementia Advisory Committee of the national Alzheimer’s Association, a group comprised of people living with dementia, as well as a similar committee for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

He has garnered international recognition and has been a regular presenter for many years at the annual conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International.