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Learning to Speak Alzheimer's: A Groundbreaking Approach for Everyone Dealing with the Disease

Learning to Speak Alzheimer's: A Groundbreaking Approach for Everyone Dealing with the Disease
By Joanne Koenig Coste

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Product Description

More than four million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, and as many as twenty million have close relatives or friends with the disease. Revolutionizing the way we perceive and live with Alzheimer’s, Joanne Koenig Coste offers a practical approach to the emotional well-being of both patients and caregivers that emphasizes relating to patients in their own reality. Her accessible and comprehensive method, which she calls habilitation, works to enhance communication between carepartners and patients and has proven successful with thousands of people living with dementia. Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s also offers hundreds of practical tips, including how to · cope with the diagnosis and adjust to the disease’s progression · help the patient talk about the illness · face the issue of driving · make meals and bath times as pleasant as possible · adjust room design for the patient’s comfort · deal with wandering, paranoia, and aggression

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #5694 in Books
  • Published on: 2004-09-08
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 256 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A fine addition to Alzheimer's and caregiving collections." -- Review

Review
After a major stroke left her husband paralyzed, unable to speak, and with significant progressive memory loss, Coste became his caregiver while raising four children. Refusing to institutionalize him, she developed a humanistic approach to caregiving ("habilitation") that focuses on enhancing the individual's remaining functional, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual abilities by creating a positive atmosphere that promotes feelings of success. Key elements of Coste's approach include simplifying the environment for the patient, capitalizing on his or her remaining skills, and making an effort to understand what life must be like for the memory impaired. Because such Alzheimer's behaviors as agitation and physical aggression are often rooted in frustration, she also offers caregivers techniques to help patients compensate for cognitive and sensory losses. Such methods include devising a daily routine filled with activities, physical exercise, snacks, and chores to reduce difficult behaviors and promote a good night's sleep. Directions for simple activities, recipes for nutritious "finger foods," and tips for hiring home caregivers are included. The level of care and involvement Coste describes is intense and may not be practical for all caregivers, but most activities can be modified to fit individual situations. A fine addition to Alzheimer's and caregiving collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/03.] Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.  (Library Journal )

About the Author
Joanne Koenig Coste, a nationally recognized expert and an outspoken advocate for patient and family care, is a board member of the American Journal of Alzheimer"s Disease. Currently in private practice as an Alzheimer"s family therapist, Koenig Coste also serves as president of Alzheimer"s Consulting Associates. She lectures around the country and is the recipient of a National Award for Health Heroes from Reader"s Digest. She was named a "Woman to Watch in the 21st Century" by NBC Nightly News.

Customer Reviews

Hanging on for dear life5
If you are experiencing this disease with a loved one, then you know the loneliness and frustration of trying to be all the person you care for needs. My sister bought this book, read it overnight, highlighted and post-it tabbed the most important parts, mailed it to me priority mail, and i have used it at night as a touchstone for salvation. It is indeed a bible for HOW to treat your loved one. I use it to get what I need to know in terms of sensitivity to what my cared for relative needs. I would be lost without it...it will help keep you on a path of the right relationship with your loved one that you will want to live up to. I promise you ,read it, highlight it, and you will not ever look back and regret anything you did, if you follow its advice. A true gift.

The person with Alzheimer's come first, not the symptoms4
Those new to Alzheimer's disease will find this book to be a helpful guide. Even those who are familar with caring for someone with the disease will find nuggets of wisdom in the middle section, "The Five Tenets of Habilitation." It is here where Joanne Koenig Coste is at her best in describing how to preserve the personhood of those with dementia. This section alone makes the entire book worthwhile. It's about time Joanne put her thoughts into a book--she has been helping people navigate their way through the choppy waters of Alzheimer's for over 20 years!

A language like no other..a book like no other!5
No where else can one find such an eloquent and simplistic approach to such a devastating disease. Families, cargivers, health care professionals and anyone "dealing with the disease" will wear the pages down finding a plethora of anectodes and approaches based on years of Koenig Coste's philosophy and experience with Alzheimer's patients and their families. Bravo, Joanne for opening up this marvelous new world to all of us!