Author: Daniel Kuhn
File Type: pdf
If someone you love has been diagnosed with Alzheimers, you may not know where to turn. The early stages can be the most difficult time for relatives and friends because they often dont know much about the disease, or how they can be of help. This compassionate and practical book fills the information gap. It is divided into sections on how Alzheimers begins, how to help a loved one with the disease, and how families and caregivers can help themselves.This new edition contains updated information on risk factors, treatments and potential means of prevention. A new chapter, Voices of Experience contains reflections by family members about what works and what doesnt in handling someone with Alzheimers.This edition also includes information about two drugs approved since 1999 and the recent decision by the government to cover the cost of counseling and other health related services through Medicare. Resources are updated.Straightforward and pragmatic, yet encouraging, this book is invaluable for anyone with a loved one in the early stages of Alzheimers disease.From Library JournalWith increased awareness of the symptoms of Alzheimers and improved diagnostic techniques, more people are learning that they or a family member have a memory disorder. Yet few books aimed at helping families understand and cope with the diseases early stages have been availableAuntil now. Kuhn, a social worker and education director at Chicagos Rush Alzheimers Disease Center, guides families in developing a philosophy of care, offering clear, current information on the nature of the illness along with anecdotes drawn from his own practice and first-person caregiver accounts. Throughout, Kuhn stresses the importance of sharing the care by involving others. Especially valuable is the extensive resource list of web sites, organizations, and references to consumer and professional literature. More details, particularly on such topics as finding knowledgeable medical providers, would have strengthened this worthwhile book. Still, this is a much-needed addition to the Alzheimers literature. For all consumer health collections.AKaren McNally Bensing, Benjamin Rose Inst. Lib., Cleveland 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. From AudioFileIn a smoothly abridged and information-packed audio, an experienced mental health practitioner focuses on the early stages of this devastating disease. He clarifies the differences between Alzheimers symptoms and impairments due to normal aging or other brain syndromes. His explanations of the medical and physiological reasons for Alzheimers symptoms are very accessible. Without being melodramatic he sounds sensitive to how families experience this kind of loss. Helped by a reasonably optimistic reading by William Dufris, the authors recommendations cover a wide range of social and medical options, all intended to help families retain some sense of order and equilibrium while they cope with this kind of tragedy. T.W. AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- AudioFile, Portland, Maine