Cover Page -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Acknowledgments -- Table of Contents -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Clarification of Terms -- How This Book Works -- Chapter 2: The Power of Laughter -- the Caregiver's Perspective -- A Good Laugh a Day Soothes Tension Away -- Laughter's Health Benefits -- Laughter Inducing Techniques -- Suggestions for Using a Journal -- My Journal Entry -- Laughing in a Public Restroom -- Chapter 3: What is Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease and What isn't? -- Other Types of Dementia Defined -- What is Alzheimer's Disease -- Activities of Daily Living -- Stages of the Disease -- Knowing Your Own Limitations Before You Make the Decision for Care -- Cost of Care Rule of Thumb -- Health Care Directive for Dementia -- Chapter 4: Dementia and English as a Second Language -- Where is My Loved One in Her Language Memory? -- When am I? -- Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community and Dementia -- Chapter 5: To Drive or Not to Drive, that is The Question -- The Driving Contract -- Medical Intervention -- What to do When Your Loved One Becomes Argumentative -- Silver Alert -- Chapter 6: Memory Aids and the Family -- Cueing Devices -- Scrapbooks: Memory Devices, Conversation Starters, Keepsakes -- Cueing Aids and Children -- Cueing Aids for Questions about Family Members and Friends Who Have Died -- Life Beyond Repetitive Questions -- Cueing Aids for Basic Needs -- Cueing Aids for Nighttime -- Cueing Aids for Hoarding -- The Five Magic Words -- Things to Avoid During the Conversation in Later Stages of Dementia -- The Dry Erase Board Option -- Cueing Aids for Medications -- Family Members Opposing Cueing Aids -- Chapter 7: Emergency Preparedness -- Disaster Kit -- Personal Earthquake Bag for Everything Else -- Emergency Car Kit -- In the Event of an Actual Emergency -- How to Prepare Before You Get Sick or Die.

Contingency Starter Plan -- One-Time Emergencies -- Continuing Crisis Situation -- In the Event You Die First -- Chapter 8: Doctors, Pharmacists, and Me, Oh My -- Setting the Records Straight -- Doctors' Appointments -- Advanced Care Planning -- Testing for Other Illnesses -- Healthcare Power of Attorney -- Letter of Competency -- POLST Explained -- Your Pharmacist is Your Friend -- Signs and Symptoms of Common Health Issues -- Urinary Tract Infections -- Hearing Loss and Dementia -- Hypothermia -- Stroke -- Heart Attack -- Working with Emergency Medical Services -- The Personal Earthquake Bag Revisited -- Chapter 9: Travel, Vacations and Holidays -- Travel -- Vacations: Your Respite -- Civic and Religious Holidays -- Chapter 10: Preparing Your Living Environment for Your Loved One -- Looking Through Your Loved One's Eyes -- Safety First -- Clutter -- Lighting -- Color Strategies Inside the Home -- Flooring and Trip Hazards -- Furniture and Interior Pathways -- Bathroom Safety -- Sound: What is that Noise? -- Kitchen Safety -- Smell -- The Home Improvement Store is Your Friend -- Pharmacies, Medical Supply Stores, or Used Medical Supply Stores -- Lock Up the Following Items in Your Home -- Telephone Tools -- Chapter 11: Distraction Techniques -- I Want to Go Home -- Shadowing -- Sleep Schedule Changes from Night to Day -- Inability to Make Decisions -- Hallucinations -- Delusions -- Crying or Laughing Sprees -- Agitation-When the emotional volcano erupts -- Aggression -- When you are faced with an aggressive response, here are some steps to try: -- Coping with Your Emotions after an Outburst -- The Meltdown Trigger List -- Long Term Coping Strategies for Aggressive Behavior -- From Sexual Inhibitions to Sexual Aggression -- Gun Safety -- Wandering -- Causes of Wandering: -- Level of Dementia -- Identify the Triggers for Wandering.

Create an Elopement Recovery Plan -- The Reframing Technique -- Chapter 12: Personal Care -- Modesty Garments for Bathing and Toileting -- Adaptive Clothing -- Bathing Schedule -- The Bathroom -- Bathroom Safety Revisited -- The Bathing Routine -- Bathing Hints -- Bathing Hint Don'ts -- Toileting Schedule -- Urinary Incontinence -- Bowel Incontinence -- Grooming -- Shaving -- Hair Styling and Makeup -- Nail Care and Foot Care -- Oral Hygiene -- Cleaning Teeth and Dentures -- Eye Care -- Self-Care -- Chapter 13: What's for Dinner? -- Week One -- Shopping List -- Check the Pantry For -- Pesto Chicken Pasta -- Easy Chicken Pot Pie -- Meatloaf and Baked Potatoes -- Shepherd's Pie -- Ham and Rice Bake -- Week Two -- Week Two Shopping List -- Check Pantry For -- Parmesan Pork Chops and Peaches -- Soft Chicken Tacos -- Country Ham Casserole -- Mushroom Smothered Salisbury Steak -- Baked Mushroom Chicken -- Color Contrasting the Dishes and Silverware from the Food -- Bibs, Smocks, Aprons -- Spoon-feeding -- Fluid Intake -- Swallowing and Pneumonia -- Chapter 14: The Deodorant Date: Why You Need Respite -- Why You Need Couples Respite -- The Deodorant Date -- What Respite Care Might Look Like if You are Single -- Chapter 15: Elder Abuse -- What is Elder Abuse? -- Warning Signs of Financial Fraud for Vulnerable Seniors: -- What You Can do to Protect Your Loved Ones -- How to Report Financial Elder Abuse -- How to Report Physical Elder Abuse -- Ways to Avoid Elder Abuse -- Chapter 16: Reinventing Your Relationship -- Altered Reality and Second Chances -- Chapter 17: Knowing When to Say When -- The Signs of Caregiver Burnout -- Stages of Care -- Mild Cognitive Decline -- Grief Counselling for Dementia Care -- Moderate Cognitive Decline -- Severe Cognitive Decline -- Death with Dignity -- Chapter 18: Long-Term Care Options -- Paying for Care.

Types of Care Facilities -- Signs of a Bad Nursing Home -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) -- Chapter 19: The Signs that Death is Approaching -- The Signals of Active Dying -- Dealing with the Days and Moments before Death -- The Moment of Death -- Death and Emotional Healing -- Chapter 20: Digital Estates and How to Deactivate a Loved One's Social Media, Email Accounts, and Other Digital Estates -- Digital Estates -- Deactivating Social Media -- What Happens to Email Accounts? -- What Happens to Financial Accounts? -- What Happens to Music, E-Books and Photo-Sharing? -- Chapter 21: When Your Caregiving Responsibilities Are Over -- Financial Responsibility -- Reporting to Social Security When a Family Member Dies -- How Many Death Certificates Do I Need? -- Credit Bureaus: Placing a Death Notice on Credit Reports -- How do I obtain a deceased person's credit report? -- Unclaimed Money and Property -- Disposal of Unused Medications -- Chapter 22: We've Come to the End of this Journey -- Appendices -- Appendix A -- Example Medication List -- Example Appointment Schedule -- Appendix B -- Preparing Your Living Environment -- Items that make life easier for older adults with mild cognitive impairment: -- Items for adults with moderate cognitive impairment: -- Appendix C -- The Meltdown Trigger List -- Useful Websites -- Advanced Directives -- Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) -- Adaptive Clothing -- Assisted Living -- Credit Monitoring Services -- Deafness and Dementia -- Driving -- Distraction Technique Aids -- Do No Call Registry -- Document Preparation and Organization -- Elder Abuse -- Elder Law -- Emergency Preparedness -- End of Life Care -- Financial Management -- Group Caregiving -- Health Care Directive for Dementia -- Health Insurance and Medication -- Home Modifications -- Incontinence Pads -- Locating Adult Day Care or In-home Care.

Long-Term Care Facilities -- Meal Services -- Medical Documents -- Medication Disposal Services -- Military Support Services -- Memory Kits -- Positive Approaches to Caregiving -- Respite Organizations -- Support Services -- Translation Languages -- Unclaimed Money or Property -- Wandering -- Notes -- Recommended Reading -- Index -- About the Author.