Touch Is Important

 Touch is important. There is a lot of research which shows that just 5 minutes of hugging and touching can create calmness.

A soft massage increases relaxation and psychological well being. A study showed improvement in severe elderly Alzheimer's patients who received tactile message.

Give your loved one a gentle message to reduced aggressive and stress. Even severe patients can benefit.

Here is a link to the study:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21131675/

Paid Family Medical Leave

 This blog entry is from my friend Lynda Everman. I am sharing her words below:

"Paid Family Medical Leave will soon be before the Senate. I've sent an email to our AL Senators urging them to pass the proposed legislation. This is the email I sent. Please feel free to use it to help draft your own:

I am writing as a former caregiver for my dad and late husband, both of whom had Alzheimer’s. This was not at all easy and lasted for 18 years, forcing me into an early retirement and loss of income. Today there are over 11 million caregivers of family members with Alzheimer’s who find themselves in this same unenviable position.

Critical help in the form of paid family and medical leave for caregivers is closer than ever, with four weeks of paid leave included in the Build Back Better bill, approved in November by the U.S. House of Representatives. Paid leave will soon be before the Senate and needs to be addressed now or the ravaging impact on family caregivers will continue.

When a family member is diagnosed with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, the effect on families is overwhelming—financially, physically, emotionally. Paid leave could help caregivers better navigate this unwelcome journey. It is not a full-scale panacea, but it is critical in making this turbulent voyage more secure. The Senate should move with haste to pass this much-needed and long-overdue legislation."

POB 9th Grader Improves The Lives of Dementia and Alzheimer's Patients

 It was a great honor to receive the Power of Children Award for my service work.  Here is an article that details my involvement with caregiving and Puzzle Time!

https://patch.com/new-york/plainview/pob-9th-grader-improves-lives-dementia-alzheimer-s-patients?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=share&fbclid=IwAR0xZ2yEL_i0W5O0mLEIhykcVibDXmx0MeYqr7gN2lwuafO32vG1X2Hx1c0

POWER OF CHILDREN AWARD - Children's Museum of Indianapolis

 Wining the Power of Children Award from the Children's Museum of Indianapolis was an incredible honor. I had a chance to meet so many other wonderful kids who are doing amazing things in this world.

Here is a link with a short video about my work https://youtu.be/-Mh8G3MxHJM

Towards A Dementia Inclusive Society

The World Health Organization created a very helpful toolkit which offers dementia friendly individuals, families, and countries.

It offers implementation of activities and how we can have a dementia inclusive society.

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240031531?fbclid=IwAR20zFDPcHoVncMV3TerEBEno8soeH-5ELbJMpnLYSY-Rd_jNdFjjvvcjes#.YZ0JpyvqKzc.facebook 

Power of Children Award

 We are very excited that our Executive Director, Hailey Richman was chosen as an awardee for the Power Of Children Award. Hailey is planning to use the award money to provide puzzles to Alzheimer's patients that are facing disparities. As a passionate influencer for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) is is important that resources will be given to communities that are in need.