Reality for a person without Alzheimer’s disease is the here and now – what is affecting our lives in the present. For one with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), it may be rooted in the past or even distant past, because those are the only memories the person can retrieve. As stated in Dr. Daniel C. Potts and Ellen Woodward Potts’ book, A Pocket Guide for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver, “people with AD lose their ability to remember first the recent past, and then the past in general.” When an individual asks a question repeatedly, it is because they do not remember the answer that you just gave to them. “Arguing and Correction” is one of the early chapters of part two of the book, which gives practical advice on how to deal with some of the many personality changes that a loved one will go through with AD.This book is an excellent resource for those who offer caregiving to one with Alzheimer’s, and would even be a good source of information for someone who provides only occasional direct caregiving, to understand what both the patient and the caregiver are dealing with. It can indeed be a challenging situation when one with AD wanders away from the home and does not have a GPS bracelet, or experiences “sundowning,” in which he or she becomes confused and agitated near the end of each day.
Part one of A Pocket Guide for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver describes how Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed and the stages of the disease, addresses caregiving, and offers general tips with communication for one with AD. The short chapters identify some common issues that a caregiver will face, including:
• The desire of the individual to “go home” and the caregiver cannot help him or her find this place.
• False accusations made to the caregiver
• Hallucinations, altered perceptions and fears
• Inappropriate public behaviors
• Clothing, dressing and bathroom concerns
• How to take away driving privileges if necessary
• Eating, sleeping, sundowning, wandering and violence on behalf of the one with AD
• Walking and balance and adapting living spaces to accommodate the patient
• Dealing with severe weather, depression and telling the individual about their diagnosis
• Realistic expectations, social isolation, dealing with family and art therapies
The quick reference section in part two of the guide gives the reader a “how to” list for each of the issues with bulleted points. At the back of the book are some helpful resources for caregivers to turn to for more information. In all of the circumstances described, the authors encourage the caregiver to put himself or herself in the AD sufferer’s point of reference and deal with them in an accommodating way, and with love and respect.