Customer Reviews

The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with 'Alzheimer's-Type Dementia'

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An excellent book for both the professional caregiver and families trying to deal with this sometimes unfathomable disease. Gives practical ideas and techniques for helping people with dementia deal with issues from paranoia and blaming to sadness and helplessness. I have just begun to explore these techniques and am finding they work so well that they should be mandatory training for nurses, PCAs and CNAs. Instead of treating our seniors like they are children we at last have a way to talk to them on an adult level, tap into where they are at, deal with the problem at hand and we all come out better for the experience.

If you live with or care for someone with Alzheimer's or other age related dementia, you must read this book ! What an eye-opener! For the first time I finally understood why Alzheimer's patients say what they say and do what they do. It all makes so much sense now. This small book reads quickly and is full of examples of real people who have been helped with the author's techniques. It shows you how to handle the blaming, accusing, name-calling and the repetitive motions ... It also explains why the way most of us react to Alzheimer's patients actions actually worsens the situation and can cause them to progress to a more advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease ! This book could extend the relationship between the patient and caregivers and should be MANDATORY reading for all staff working in nursing homes and long-term care facilities !

More and more relevant as we care for aging parents. With a title like this one might think: "Boring" Absolutely not so! Right from the start, the stories of the people are so real and so touching that one of my friends said she was moved to tears. She was so sad not to have known about this way of relating to her father. "It works," she told me. "Validation Breakthrough" shows a new way of relating to people with dementia of Alzheimer's type. This approach is effective in helping the person to clear up unresolved issues in their lives. You do not have to be a professionally trained therapist to use validation. Validation will make the relationship more rewarding for both people. It is not hard to learn and makes wonderful sense. Some readers may want to ask new questions of care facilities (like nursing homes) as the validation approach will keep loved ones from slipping into a vegetative state. It will also make the care much kinder, and more rewarding for the care givers.

I've read everything I can get my hands on regarding caregiving for someone with Alzheimer's disease, and this is by far one of the most engaging and informative books out there. I often found myself nodding my head while reading the detailed case studies; they mirrored so closely many of my own experiences. Author Naomi Feil's approach really does provide a way to understand and connect with people with Alzheimer's at any stage. I highly recommend.

Good primer on validation methods and communication skills to use with different Alzheimer's/dementia populations. A favorite

This book provides you,the reader, with unique, valuable, and extremely useful information about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Its suggestions defuse stress before it becomes overwhelming. Understanding dementia is key, and this book provides the reader with the facts that are essential for making your life easier by using the validation technique.
By Susan Berg author of Adorable Photographs of Our Baby: Meaningful, Mind Stimulating Activities and More for the Memory Challenged, Their Loved Ones, and Involved Professionals

I work in an assisted living facility for dementia care. We deal with all stages of Alzheimer's disease, and experience many difficult bahaviors that are difficult for staff and family to handle. This book was a revelation for me, it gave anecdotal and concrete advice and tools to use to communicate with people suffering from dementia. I have applied many simple suggestions and found that they are surprisingly on target. I have been able to bring a much calmer mood to our unit by sharing these techniques and also the different frame of reference they represent. Our residents are wonderfully special people, and this book helped me to help them better in handling their disease.

My mother has had Alzheimers for several years, and I am active with a local nonprofit organization that works with dementia patients and their caregivers. The principles outlined in this book are very effective in dealing with these patients. I wish I had known at the earlier stages about what NOT to do: NOT to reason, NOT to argue, NOT to explain. I have seen some of Naomi's videos, and she is wonderful. Her technique is clearly presented in this book, in case history after case history, and the reader is given step-by-step instructions for dealing with four different stages of dementia. I disagree with the reviewer who said this method is not appropriate for early stages. If we have learned anything in this journey through the maze of dementia, it's that we must alter the way we react and respond to the patient, or as Naomi puts it, to enter into the patient's world. This book should be mandatory for all professional caregivers and staff who work with dementia patients.

A friend recommended this book to me when I told her my mom has dementia. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is a caregiver of a person with dementia or similar diseases. Using the suggestions in this book, I was able to understand my mother and just "go back" with her when she was not in the present. It helped to calm her down and even get a smile from her on several occasions. You cannot reason someone back to the present when they are afflicted with dementia and their mind takes them back. My dad picked up on this also by watch me with her and now it is easier for him to talk to her as well.

An invaluable and comprehensive guide to not only the disease Alzheimers, but to the possibilities for the patient and caregiver. Teqniques found in "Validation Breakthrough" were invaluable to me during a 1 week introductory Pastoral Care Course set in a Memory Care Unit allowing me to cut through the many mysteries of the disease and minister immediately to the individual. I would think a key peice for a family new to living with Alzheimers. Naomi Feil speaks in an easy to understand language of love and life long experience.