About the Disease & Overviews
Experience 12 Minutes in Alzheimer’s Dementia from Alzheimer’s Weekly and ABC News
Using glasses, gloves, and a “confusion soundtrack,” follow a reporter as she takes an experiential tour to learn more about the difficulties people experience in Alzheimer’s disease.
Understand Alzheimer’s Disease in 3 Minutes by Tender Rose Dementia Care Specialists
Very good film about the deterioration of the different regions of the brain throughout the slow decline of Alzheimer’s.
Living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia from Nashville Public Television (1 hr.)
Dementia: The Unspooling Mind from 16x9onglobal (1 hr.)
Examines dementia care in Canada (where the news program originates); Thailand; and the Netherlands, showing new innovations in dementia care, living situations, and medical tourism, all told through individual personal stories.
Caregiving
Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Care for the Caregiver from Senior Helpers featuring Teepa Snow and Leeza Gibbons
In four parts, totalling a full hour’s seminar. I found parts 3 and 4 to be the most informational and insightful. One slide in part 3 is jaw-dropping for its comparison of brain scans of an adult with Alzheimer’s and the brain development of a child.
How to Talk So Alzheimer’s Can Hear You by Kristen Belfy (approx. 15 min.)
Kristen talks to Grandma, who has Alzheimer’s. Kristen gives good suggestions on communication, particularly when the Alzheimer’s patient has difficulty with individual words, or speaks “gibberish.” Very good examples of how to still have meaningful conversations even when impaired by Alzheimer’s.
The 7 Stages of Alzheimer’s Through a Caregiver’s Eyes by Toni Wombaker. (approx. 1 hr.)
A chronicle of a daughter and her mother’s journey through Alzheimer’s, including recognition of symptoms and decline, sometimes with the benefit of hindsight. Good concrete examples and experiences. Lengthy at 1 hour. Much of the last half of the film is more designed to be a tribute. Some religious content and consolation throughout, particularly in the latter half.
Alzheimer’s: The Caregiver’s Perspective from Community Idea Stations and WCVE-PBS (1 hr.)
An excellent look at the various experiences of caregivers through a variety of circumstances and progressions of the disease of dementia. Situations shown include spouses and families with young children coping with a loved one’s diagnosis of a early-onset; aging parents in full-time memory care facilities; home care and experimental treatments. This documentary is an honest look at the various ways dementia is experienced and the solutions caregivers seek. Noteworthy for its emphasis upon caregivers, this program also includes numerous interviews with persons with a dementia diagnosis, who describe what it is like for them to experience the disease “from the inside.”
Still to come: Alzheimer’s and Dementia Reading List