Customer Reviews

The Art of Dementia Care

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Art of Dementia Care speaks not only to the mind, but to the heart and soul of its readers. It inspires and empowers caregivers by illuminating the limitless possibilities that truly exist when we choose the relationship model of care. Kuhn and Verity clearly illustrate how everyday challenges in caregiving can evolve into opportunities that celebrate residual abilities, and honor and uphold the dignity of persons with dementia. Through simple, practical and thoughtful examples, the Art of Dementia Care awakens its readers to the powerful realization "that you hold the key to the quality of someone else's life". Imagine a world where we all shared this conviction.

My father was 88 with dememtia, and I cared for him at the end of his life. This book was a godsend. It was the first and best explanation of dementia I had when my world was filled with strange doctors, social workers, and nursing home staff. I bought copies for my mother and siblings. Reading and re-reading his book was like having a loving guide to explain how my father saw the world and his possibilities. I was able to relate to him in a far more rational and caring way than I would have without this book. This book helped me save my father's death, so at the end Dad felt loved, understood, and not so alone.

This book is written in a manner that provides both informative reading and compasionate insight into the world of caring for a loved one with dementia. It gives hope to those who walk this lonely road that there is help available and strength to be found.

This book gives the caregiver practical advice and hope. This book shows you that sitations can be very different, but treating your loved one or friend with dementia as a person will go a long way to making things tolerable and even enjoyable. There is good in every situation. This book shows you how to find it.
by Susan Berg author of Adorable Photographs of Our Baby-Meaningful More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones, and Involved Professionals [...]

The authors of the book, The Art of Dementia Care, help change caregivers' perspectives on caring for a person with dementia. I am a nurse who is presently living with my father who has Alzheimers Disease. The book helped me see the positives in a sad situation. I practiced some of the techniques suggested and could really see my father's self-esteem lift. I highly recommend this book to all caregivers of people with dementia.

Kuhn and Verity emphasise that the book serves to introduce each worker as an artist; someone with creativity, patience and the skill to achieve positive results. They add that just like artists, the worker requires education, training and experience to produce rewarding results.

The book is easy to read. It is not cluttered with references, but provides a selection of references and resources at the back. The introduction serves to elevate the esteem of people who work in the field of dementia care. It underlines the uniqueness of the individual with dementia, and the importance each person makes to the everyday ives of those in their care. In six short chapters, the book illustrates in a simple yet powerful manner the need to focus on the existing strengths of people with dementia. Using reflective questions and case studies, the reader is guided through their attitudes, methods of communication and strategies to use when dealing with challenging behaviours.

It is a book of hope, with a strong message to follow intuitively what is right when interacting with a human being whose world is confusing and often frightening.

~ The above is excerpted from a review by Angela Kydd, Senior Lecturer in Gerontology, School of Health, Nursing and Midwifery, University of the West of Scotland, UK, that appeared in DEMENTIA: The international journal of social research and practice, May 2009.
.

This book is designed for the professional caregiver in mind-institutional situations, but we home caregivers can get some very helpful tactics and advise.

This book is incredible! What a refreshingly wonderful approach! I am a daughter of a mother with dementia and not an employed care taker of a dementia patient. However I found this book invaluable in helping my mother have a positive quality of life. I am so thankful for this purchase. It has changed my life and my mothers life as well. Very helpful!!!

I ordered this book because for four months I have been taking care of my mother in my home. I thought this book would help me. It did not. It is for professional healthcare workers in a nursing home setting. It did me no good at all. I would not recommend it for home caregivers.

Somewhere I missed that this book was written for health care professionals. I have found some interesting thoughts and ideas about how to view a person with this disease, and I admit I have not yet finished reading it yet.