Pathways to Well-Being with Dementia: A Manual of Help, Hope and Inspiration was written by people LIVING with diagnoses of AD, vascular dementia, LBD and FTD, and by professionals focused on supporting those with these diagnoses.
It's free from the Dementia Action Alliance a non-profit whose mission is "creating a better society in which individuals and families can live well with dementia without stigma and misperceptions through advocacy, education, empowerment and support."
The DAA strongly believes in prevention, with a section on strategies that could prevent up to 40% of cases of dementia that are consistent with the Primer and others. The real benefits of this book, however, are:
- "how-to" for a host of issues. Making "air travel easier" and "managing your stuff" are on my wish list now! Medical Affairs includes far more than drugs, with cannabis/CBD and transcranial magnetic stimulation.; Tech supports gives great ideas on using Siri, Alexa and other tech to stay connected
- The voices of people "living with Alzheimer's" explains that "
[Ibid, p. 15]Individuals living with dementia are agents of their own lives for as long as possible. They are not mere recipients of care. They need support, not pity or control. They also continue to give to others.
Relationships are reciprocal even as they change over time