WHAT'S NEW

Caring for the Caregiver

Parade Magazine, September 6, 2019

Most caregiving falls on family shoulders, and that’s true even if you’re a four-star admiral, health leader and professor like former surgeon general David Satcher, who served as “America’s top doctor” from 1998 to 2002. What he, MSNBC's Richard Lui, and others are doing to help others like themselves.

Brain Power

Woman's Day, April 2019

Dementia hits women especially hard. I wrote this first-person piece to explain why I decided to join the quest for answers by enrolling in a study looking at the effects of perimenopause on Alzheimer's. (Print edition; link goes to PDFs of magazine pages.)

"Understanding the Latest in Dementia Issues"

National Press Foundation fellowship

Thrilled to have been selected for my second National Press Foundation fellowship. Looking forward to hearing the latest on research, treatment, economic impact, caregiving, tech innovations, and more in Washington, DC.

Secrets From Dr. Oz: Why He's Fasting and Using the Clock to Slow Dementia and Fight Disease

Parade Magazine

My interview with Dr. Oz touches on many different ways the clock and timing can influence health; dementia is one.

Your Brain Needs a Fitness Plan. Here's How to Keep It in Shape

Market Watch

Life expectancy has increased. But our brains aren't keeping up. Reprint of a piece I wrote for Next Avenue.

The Link Between Menopause &
Alzheimer's

Wall Street Journal

In this 2-19-19 report on the fascinating line of research into the hormonal impact on dementia, I explain why I'm in a study by Lisa Mosconi, PhD,: “It was a low-risk opportunity for me to help unravel these kind of mysteries about what causes Alzheimer’s.”

Paula's Newest Book:
A Memory Keeper

An Oral History: Preserve Your Family's Story 

Though my latest book (August, 2018) isn't targeted to dementia families specifically, it can be a resource for those with mild cognitive impairment or who are helping someone with mild dementia still able to access long-held family stories and reminisces. It's a fill-in-the-blank personal-history journal, my third interactive-journal for Peter Pauper Press, the gift-book publishing house.

New Surviving Alzheimer's Podcasts

Bottom Line Inc. 

4 interview episodes:

• Understanding the Deadly Emotions of Caregiving

• Personality Patterns and Alzheimer's

• Moral Quandaries about Alzheimer's

• End Stage Dementia Caregiving 

7 Steps to Managing Difficult Dementia Behaviors (Safely & Without Medications)

by Paula Spencer Scott, in Better Health While Aging

Learn the "Why This, Try This" approach to dealing with stress-making behaviors (agitation, pacing, delusions, and many more) without medication. I wrote this piece for Dr. Leslie Kernisan's site, which is packed with useful info you won't find elsewhere. She's a very smart geriatrician who understands caregivers' needs well.

Podcast/Cheat-Sheet: Difficult Dementia Behaviors

Better Health While Aging

Host Leslie Kernisan, MD, and I talk about the "Why This, Try This" approach, why I wrote Surviving Alzheimer's, and more in this episode of her podcast. (Free PDF "cheatsheet" offered at end of link.)

Maria Shriver on Alzheimer's

From my interview with her in Parade

"What are you most optimistic about in the fight against Alzheimer’s?"

"I’m super excited that people like Bill Gates and young neuroscientists are jumping into this space...we’re at a place where smart minds meet technology meet funding meet interest."

Preventing Alzheimer's: What You Can Do

by Paula Spencer Scott, Parade cover story

Read the report of my visit to the first Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic for risk assessment and intervention. Scientists are more excited than ever about "upstream" solutions to Alzheimer's. Genetics play a still-mysterious role in this awful disease but may not be your inevitable destiny. (Know your ABCs!)

Tapping the Creative Brain for People With Alzheimer's & Related Diseases

by Paula Spencer Scott (in Parade) 

...“It’s the cultural cure,” says Anne Basting, a gerontologist and theater arts professor at the University of Wisconsin who won a MacArthur fellowship “genius” grant last year for her work in this area, including TimeSlips, the imagination-based storytelling method....

Dementia Care: Here Is the Silver Lining to Losing Your Temper

by Paula Spencer Scott, at Alzheimer's Reading Room

It takes the patience of a saint to deal with many of the stressful, frustrating behaviors of Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. And I'm no saint.

Two Words That Can Immediately Make Any Dementia Behavior Less Stressful

by Paula Spencer Scott, at Alzheimer's Reading Room

The beauty of the "why-this, try this" approach with people who have dementia is that it starts working the very second you decide to use it.

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It can stretch your sorely-tested patience and swap frustration for positive action.

Kind Ways to Respond When a Person with Alzheimer's Forgets Someone Has Died

by Paula Spencer Scott, at The Women's Alzheimer's Movement

This excerpt from Surviving Alzheimer's appears on the website for the alliance founded by Maria Shriver

Caregiver Smile Summit

Beginning Oct. 30, 2017

I'm one of 50 aging-care and health experts appearing on this video-based virtual conference for family caregivers, talking about family dynamics and how to get more help.

"Why I Wrote Surviving Alzheimer's"

essay in AlzAuthors

I knew little about dementia back when my grandmother began using a kitchen pot for a commode. Or when my dad began wailing, “Oh why didn’t anyone tell me?” on the day after my mother’s funeral, because he’d already forgotten she died.
So how did I wind up writing a guide to Alzheimer’s care?

New! EXPANDED Surviving Alzheimer's

Published January 10, 2018

The book's completely updated and expanded 2nd edition includes: an extensive chapter on end-of-life care, more on how to communicate better with someone who has difficulty talking or understanding, added behavior challenges, and more on the "Why-This, Try-This" approach to dementia care.