Alzheimer Society Blog

If you’re planning to visit someone with dementia, do you wonder, “What’s the point of visiting when they won’t even remember?” But just like us, people with dementia enjoy spending time with family and old friends. Susan Bithrey is a caregiver who has seen how beneficial visitors are to her husband Reg, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.  When Reg was still living at home, the couple’s sons visited whenever they could from Edmonton and Burlington and took part in activities…

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Imagine giving people with Alzheimer’s disease a soundtrack of their life to help them remember who they are.  It’s the gift of a better life.  This is what the Alzheimer Society of Toronto’s (AST) “Music and Memory: iPod Project” does. With a grant to cover start-up costs, AST has already provided 300 iPods, complete with earphones, iTunes gift cards and volunteers to help upload the personalized playlists to participants for free. The idea came after the founder of this successful…

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The Council of the Federation identified dementia as an important priority issue today. What does this mean for Canadians living with dementia?

I’ve always been fascinated by the brain. How does it develop? Why does it degenerate? Despite all that we know, there is still so much that we don’t know about the brain and it’s exciting to be exploring these questions with so many bright people. In the past, many of us worked in silos. Everyone was busy in their own corners, doing their own thing. Now we are all working together. Geriatricians, neurologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists – everyone is working collaboratively….

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The world around us impacts how we feel, behave and engage with others. We all want to live in an environment where we feel safe, comfortable and independent. People with dementia are the same.

Lindsay Butcher, the Acting Program manager at the Alzheimer Society of Peel, answers our questions about day programs. 1. What are adult day programs? Adult day programs offer social and recreational activity during the day in a supported and supervised environment. At the Alzheimer Society of Peel, our day programs cater to adults with cognitive impairments. We provide a wide variety of therapeutic programming to help clients maintain their current level mental and physical functioning, ultimately to help them stay…

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The world is always beckoning for us to leave the comfort and safety of home, whether it’s to visit friends, family or see a new place. For those with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers, this need is no different, although it comes with challenges. Susan Bithrey was one caregiver who travelled a lot with her husband Reg, even after he was diagnosed with dementia.  Although they loved living in Thunder Bay, they had many reasons to leave: family in Alberta…

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