Getting a dementia diagnosis is one of the moments you hope never to experience. However, families need to know the difference between the types of dementia such as vascular dementia, lewy body dementia, frontal lobe dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Today’s guest is Alzheimer’s Care Strategist and Dementia coach Kerry Mills. She helps families manage the symptoms of dementia so that both the caregiver and care receive can maintain a quality of life. In this episode, she talks us through the differences and types of dementia so that we can understand dementia and what individuals who have dementia go through so that we can better support our loved ones with dementia.
What’s in this episode?
0:52: Frontotemporal Dementia
1:23 Meet Kerry Mills
2:10 Types of Dementia
3:55 Alzheimer’s
4:46 Vascular Dementia
5:50 Cardiology in relation to Dementia
7:23 Waiting too long to see a professional
7:55 Ministroke and symptoms
8:33 Blows to the head
8:58 Frontotemporal Dementia
10:33 Primary Progressive Aphasia or PPA
12:09 Receptive Aphasia
12:37 Louie bodies
14:39 Addressing hallucinations for Parkinson’s patients
15:39 Being careful with medication for patients with Lewy Body
16:40 Medication for Parkinson patients
18:20 Symptoms of different types of Dementia
20:37 What to do about violent symptoms
24:55 Alzheimer’s wards
27:44 Programs for patients with Alzheimer’s
29:31 Safety at home
30:45 Tools for self care
33:12 Self guilt
33:57 Quality matters
35:50 Support groups
What you will learn:
- The different types of Dementia
- The symptoms of Alzheimer’s
- Cardiology in relation to Dementia
- Symptoms of different types of Dementia
- How to care for loved ones with Dementia
- When it is time to seek support programs
- Tools for self care and addressing self guilt
Meet Kerry Mills
Kerry is an Alzheimer’s Care Strategist and Dementia Coach at the Brain Health and Research Institute in Seattle. Whether Kerry is participating in a symposium on health care at the United Nations, sharing her expertise with health professionals in China, moderating a state-of-the-art Alzheimer’s program at Boston’s prestigious Coolidge Theatre, guest lecturing to medical professionals in Hong Kong, training professional care-partners in Toronto or simply meeting with a family, she exhibits a high level of enthusiasm and encouragement and delivers a message of hope regarding this debilitating disease. Kerry’s goal is to change the perception of the disease in the public square. She has witnessed many success stories first-hand and knows that much of the despair and anguish of families can be overcome through education and training.