wheat fields in fall with pine trees and mountains in the distance | the DAWN Method

Turning No into Yes—Reaching Underlying Issues of Disempowerment

No one likes being told what to do, and that doesn’t change when dementia appears. When someone demands that you do something, isn’t your natural response a momentary “Why should I?” or “Who are you to tell me what to do?” When dementia has taken away rational thought, those innate responses aren’t followed by reasoning … Read more

Rocks in a river with forest and sky

Dementia and Aggressiveness

How to handle a combative dementia patient** [This article, “Dementia and Aggressiveness,” is the last in a series of three articles about mean dementia. See parts 1 and 2, “Mean Dementia—Dementia and Being Mean to Family,” and the “Dementia Anger Stage.”] “You stop that or I’ll hit you!” If you are someone who works with … Read more

agitated, turbulent water in stream

Dementia ‘Anger Stage’

There are more people searching for information on the dementia ‘anger stage’—and how to deal with dementia patients who are angry—than for any other answers about dementia care. This should tell us something. (This article is Part 2 of our series on anger; see Part 1: Mean Dementia—Dementia and Being Mean to Family; see Part 3: … Read more

Turbulent water in stream

Mean Dementia—Dementia and Being Mean to Family

How to deal with a mean dementia ‘patient’* Why is my mom so angry? Why does my husband blow up when I try to explain something?”  Why does it feel like having dementia and being mean to family often go hand in hand? There is an answer—a way to avoid the anger that so often … Read more

Pink Blossoms in the Rain | the DAWN Method

Dementia Behaviors Aren’t the Problem—It’s the Emotions That Cause Them

The stress caused by dementia-related behaviors Anyone who has spent time with someone experiencing dementia knows that dealing with dementia behaviors (or Alzheimer’s behaviors) causes tremendous stress. For families caring for someone with dementia at home, caregiving is in itself debilitating because of round-the-clock demands and the difficulty of finding someone who can step in … Read more