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Cover image of The Person with Alzheimer's Disease
Cover image of The Person with Alzheimer's Disease
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The Person with Alzheimer's Disease

Pathways to Understanding the Experience

edited by Phyllis Braudy Harris

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The first book to provide a comprehensive look at what it's like to have dementia and the subjective experience of living with progressive memory loss.

Few families are untouched by Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. Moving accounts of what it is like to care for someone with this disease have already been published, as well as how-to books that offer caregivers advice and information on coping. But this book is the first to provide a comprehensive report of what it is like to have dementia oneself—the subjective experience of living with progressive memory loss.

Each chapter discusses...

The first book to provide a comprehensive look at what it's like to have dementia and the subjective experience of living with progressive memory loss.

Few families are untouched by Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. Moving accounts of what it is like to care for someone with this disease have already been published, as well as how-to books that offer caregivers advice and information on coping. But this book is the first to provide a comprehensive report of what it is like to have dementia oneself—the subjective experience of living with progressive memory loss.

Each chapter discusses a different aspect of having dementia, from the initial assessment and diagnosis through placement in a nursing home. The discussions are grounded in qualitative research and case studies, which convey the variable and personal nature of the experience. They seek to help clinicians, researchers, students, and caregivers (both professionals and family members) understand the experience of dementia, and thereby to promote better caregiving through a person-centered approach.

Contributors: Kathleen Kahn-Denis, Judson Retirement Community; Casey Durkin, a psychotherapist in Cleveland, Ohio; Jane Gilliard, Dementia Voice, UK; Phyllis Braudy Harris, John Carroll University; John Keady, University of Wales, UK; John Killick, University of Stirling, UK; Rebecca G. Logsdon, University of Washington; Charlie Murphy, University of Stirling, UK; Alison Phinney, University of British Columbia, Canada; Steven R. Sabat, Georgetown University; Dorothy Seman, Alzheimer's Family Care Center, Chicago; Lisa Snyder, University of California, San Diego; Jane Stansell, Alzheimer's Family Care Center, Chicago; Gloria Sterin, Shaker Heights, Ohio; Jon C. Stuckey, Messiah College; Robyn Yale, Consultant to the Alzheimer's Association, San Francisco; Rosalie Young, Wayne State University School of Medicine.

Reviews

Reviews

This is an amazing book! I was greatly moved by the very personal and intimate accounts of the difficulties and challenges presented by progressive memory loss. This book is critical for people newly diagnosed and their family and friends, and all of us who provide care to these families.

Harris has assembled in The Person with Alzheimer's Disease a collection of contributions rich in their insights about the lived experience of persons with AD... [It] compels us to focus on potential contributions, on the persistence of selfhood and human agency, and on how the voices of those with AD can teach us powerful and important lessons.

If, like me, you believe that Alzheimer's is an illness people can live with rather than being a condition they die from, then this is the book for you. It has the potential to influence and change the experience of care by influencing and changing the practice of those who read it, who hear the voices of those involved with it and who reflect on the lessons which may be learned.

It is a celebration of the spirit and the strengths of ordinary people who are faced with the challenges of AD (Alzeimher's disease) and other dementias.

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
336
ISBN
9780801868771
Illustration Description
13 halftones, 2 line drawings
Table of Contents

List of Contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Prologue: Notes from The Crying Room
Part I: The Medical Experience
1. Testing Times: The Experience of Neuropsychological Assessment for People with

List of Contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Prologue: Notes from The Crying Room
Part I: The Medical Experience
1. Testing Times: The Experience of Neuropsychological Assessment for People with Suspected Alzheimer's Disease
2. Medical Experiences and Concerns of People with Alzheimer's Disease
Part II: The Impact of the Diagnosis on Everyday Life
3. Living with the Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
4. Making the Most of Everyday: Quality of Life
5. Selfhood and Alzheimer's Disease
6. Social and Family Relationships: Establishing and Maintaining Connections
7. Meaningful Communication throughout the Journey: Clinical Observations
8. Connecting to the Spirit
9. Building Resilience through Coping and Adapting
Part III: Experiences with Fornal Services
10. The Experience of People with Dementia in Community Services
11. Volunteerism: Contributions by Persons with Alzheimer's Disease
12. The Experience of Support Groups for Persons with Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease and Their Families -
13. The Person with Dementia and Artwork: Art Therapy
14. "I Can't Place This Place at All": The Nursing Home Experience
Index

Author Bio
Featured Contributor

Phyllis Braudy Harris, Ph.D.

Phyllis Braudy Harris is a professor in the Department of Sociology and director of the Aging Studies Program at John Carroll University. She is co-editor of Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice.