Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that slowly destroys a person’s memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. Following a diagnosis, a person with Alzheimer’s or a loved one may have questions about the disease. Frequently asked questions include:
Find answers to these questions and more on NIA’s website.
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If all the people in Illinois with dementia lived in a single city, it would be the second largest after Chicago, so building dementia friendly communities in Illinois is of significant importance.
Illinois was recognized as a Dementia Friendly state in 2017, as part of Dementia Friendly America. Currently 18 communities in Illinois are designated as Dementia Friendly with many more in the process. ICRN supports Dementia Friendly Illinois and has collected resources to help the efforts of communities in Illinois to become part of the Dementia Friendly America movement.
Dementia Friends Illinois is a grass-roots effort for community members to become aware of the steps they can take individually and collectively to improve the lived experience of persons with dementia and their support systems.
Living with Alzheimer’s disease can take time and adjustment
Adjusting to being caregiver for someone with Alzheimer’s disease is a slow process.
Resources for those who work with people who have dementia and their families
Did you know that Thanksgiving is also National Family Health History Day? Many people worry that if a family member has Alzheimer’s, then they will, too. Having a family history of Alzheimer’s disease does not mean that you will develop…
Read about the latest NIA Funding Opportunities
Interested in volunteering for research on Alzheimer’s, related dementias, and cognitive health?
Finding a way to stay connected during this time of stress and social distancing.
During the spread of COVID-19 and the need for social distancing, we are all feeling more lonely and disconnected. If you are living with or caring for someone with dementia that feeling is even stronger. Both family members and healthcare staff are feeling this stress too.
We began #WordsOfComfort to bring us together and share words of support, advice and comfort as we move through this time. We hope these words of comfort help each of us to know that we are not alone.
On one occasion, I was testing a participant in the Memory and Aging Project who had several physical impairments. Her caretaker was absent on the day of our appointment. While I didn’t meet the caretaker personally, her presence was felt all throughout the apartment: there was a framed photo of the two at the Chicago Pride Parade, the participant used an Amazon Alexa that the caretaker had given her for Christmas, and the caretaker’s warm and giving personality was a recurring topic of conversation.
It wasn’t until later on in the appointment that I learned the reason behind the caretaker’s absence: her sick family member had been hospitalized the night before. It became clear that this caretaker had been acting as a loving, surrogate family member to the participant, in addition to taking care of others outside of her work.
So many caretakers, like this one, go the extra mile. They don’t simply “wipe their feet at the door.” They carry their work with them, touching the lives of those in need, and forming meaningful bonds along the way—all this on top of the challenges they may be facing in their personal lives.
To this caretaker, and all the others, we owe an endless amount of gratitude.
The caregivers at Without Warning are heroes to me because they show such strength and courage in the midst of a devastating disease. And they do this every day without time off. They have to face new challenges and obstacles and still manage to move forward. They not only support their loved ones but others in the group. It is important to me because as a counselor I truly believe the true heroes in life are the ones who find the courage to endure even when life can get really hard.
As this crisis evolves I think often about the caregivers of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. One of the great qualities you all have is that of adaptation as we have all learned how to do that over time. Your abilities and strength will get you through these times. You all are in my thoughts and prayers. ❤️ #CAREGIVERS STRONG
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