Half of all Americans know someone who has Alzheimer’s disease – a disease that has now replaced cancer as the most feared disease among seniors. It affects more than five million people in the United States; and that number is expected to reach 13 million within the next fifteen years!
While we wait for a cure for this debilitating disease, a nationally renowned Alzheimer’s and dementia care expert, Teepa Snow, is beginning a year-long, 24 city tour. Teepa provides FREE, riveting, hands-on Do’s and Don’ts to teach people how to better care for their elderly loved ones suffering with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Her ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life for not only the seniors but also families and caregivers struggling to cope with these diseases.
These seminars are so moving, Teepa will bring you to tears with her extraordinary gift for acting out the real-life horrors and hopes of caring for a failing loved one. Families and caregivers will walk away with communication tools they can immediately use in their everyday lives. Teepa’s tour is sponsored by Senior Helpers, one of the nation’s fastest growing in-home care companies and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, a national non-profit organization serving Alzheimer’s patients and their families and caregivers. Teepa’s first stop is in Atlanta, Georgia on May 3, 2012. Her final stop is in northern New Jersey on April 23, 2013.
“It’s vital that we act now because our families are suffering. They don’t understand Alzheimer’s and dementia – and there’s no one to teach them,” says Teepa Snow. “That’s why I’ve teamed up with Senior Helpers and the AFA. I want to give families answers and show them, in practical terms, how to improve the quality of life for Alzheimer’s patients and themselves, through better communication.”
Teepa Snow is also an occupational therapist and creator of the new, revolutionary Senior Gems program. Teepa assigns each stage of dementia to a gem, like a diamond or ruby, which helps caregivers better navigate every mood and movement of a loved one who is deteriorating before their very eyes. For example, when caring for a sapphire, you should always offer options and suggestions rather than tell them what to do. But for an amber, you need to limit the number of words you use when communicating with them and it’s important to also give them visual cues. Each family that attends the local seminars will walk away with a free Senior Gems DVD.
“This tour is a way for me to not only help caregivers and families cope, it’s also a chance for me to educate the nation about these diseases that are taking an emotional and physical toll on everyone they touch,” says Teepa. “I can’t bring these families a cure, but I can help them conquer their fears by giving them the power of knowledge and show them how to better communicate and cope.”
After families hear Teepa speak (cities listed below), they can also visit the AFA Quilt To Remember (provided in select cities by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America). It’s an emotionally moving and colorful tribute to loved ones and caregivers who fought the disease. It spans 12,700 square feet and is touring the U.S. for the next five years.
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“Teepa Tips” for Working With People Who Have Dementia:
17% of caregivers report their health has gotten worse as a result of family caregiving. Here are tips to help caregivers better communicate.
- Offer Supportive NOT Confrontational Communication
- Emphasize what you want to have happen, NOT who’s the boss or who’s right
- Recognize the value of mistakes or ‘UH OHs’ – and turn them into new strategies and ‘AH HAs!’
- Provide short, simple information rather than asking questions
- Offer concrete and clear options or choices rather than wide open requests that require both word-finding and decision-making to answer
Teepa Tour: Coming to a city near you
- 1. Atlanta, GA – May 3, 2012
- 2. Tampa, FL – May 4-5, 2-12
- 3. Nashville, TN – June 7-8, 2012
- 4. Portland, OR – June 21, 2012
- 5. Charlotte, NC – July 13, 2012
- 6. Northern California – August 12-13, 2012
- 7. Los Angeles/Orange County, CA – August 14-15, 2012
- 8. San Diego, CA – August 15-16, 2012
- 9. Phoenix, AZ – August 16-17, 2012
- 10. Washington, D.C. (metro area) – October 4, 2012
- 11. Philadelphia, PA – October 5, 2012
- 12. Cleveland, OH – October 22, 2012
- 13. Minneapolis, MN – October 26, 2012
- 14. Kansas City, MO – November 2, 2012
- 15. Long Island, NY – December 10, 2012
- 16. Boston, MA – December 11, 2012
- 17. Dallas, TX – January 7-8, 2013
- 18. Denver, CO – January 9, 2013
- 19. Louisville, KY – January 23, 2013
- 20. Miami, FL – January 25, 2013
- 21. Indianapolis, IN – March 11, 2013
- 22. Chicago, IL – March 12, 2013
- 23. Detroit, MI – March 14, 2013
- 24. North Jersey – April 23, 2013