Dementia Simulation House Openings!

Hi friends! I am still on a little bit of a hiatus…life is crazy…fill you in later. I did want to let you know that we just released the February schedule for the Dementia Simulation House in Cedar Falls, Iowa! If you live close or enjoy a good road trip, feel free to reserve a spot: https://calendly.com/—-248/dementia-simulation-house-experience?month=2023-02&date=2023-02-01 You can learn more about the house here: … Continue reading Dementia Simulation House Openings!

Dementia Simulation: Home for the Holidays Edition

Hi all! Fair warning…these are our last opportunities to come visit the Dementia Simulation House in 2022! Ever thought about what it would be like to prepare for the holidays as a person living with dementia? We’d love to see ya: https://calendly.com/—-248/dementia-simulation-house-homefortheholidays?month=2022-12&date=2022-12-12 Continue reading Dementia Simulation: Home for the Holidays Edition

My Holiday Letter to You

Dear Friends, Happy holidays! Here’s little update on our fam. Bill is an administrator at the University of Northern Iowa. I am a professor of Gerontology. Gus-Gus, our resident geriatric dog, is now 17 and wears a belly band. His eyes are cloudy but he’s thriving. Carlos, our youngest pup, is now about 6. His hobbies include trying to eat cat food and borrowing under … Continue reading My Holiday Letter to You

And I’m back with one more thing….

What is the one thing that caregivers should keep in mind? Yes, I am back with one more one thing, The one thing that caregivers should keep in mind is that you will mess up. I’ve written about this before. You do something, and you will mess up. There are minor failures, moderate failures, and sometimes you just have a giant crash-and-burn failure. You aren’t … Continue reading And I’m back with one more thing….

Sex, Dementia, and a Favor

Hi all… Yes, you read correctly. Sex. We’ve been doing dementia caregiver support groups. And we’ve been talking about sex. But we want to learn more. I asked one of our interns, Olivia, to do a deep dive and learn about different perspectives on dementia sex. There’s not enough out there, and it’s such a multi-faceted topic. Issues with consent. Challenges with privacy in assisted … Continue reading Sex, Dementia, and a Favor

Oh, and another thing…

I’m back again with the one thing caregivers should know (except, yeah, this is the 3rd one thing). But here goes… The One Thing… …the one thing caregivers should keep in mind… …is that you can’t fix dementia. It sounds simple, right. Dementia is not something you can cure. It is, by definition, progressive. As a caregiver, you can’t stop the progress. I know some … Continue reading Oh, and another thing…

I’m Not Writing A Blog This Week

I’m not writing a blog this week. I guess I kind of am because you are reading this. But my brain is tired. I talk a lot about mental energy and mental fatigue among those living with dementia. Someone with dementia has limited mental energy, and they should get to decide how to spend it. My favorite analogy is mental energy pennies. I talk about … Continue reading I’m Not Writing A Blog This Week