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<v Speaker 1>We have the stark, cold reality of the existence of

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<v Speaker 1>the nefarious disease. It is Alzheimer's disease. I'm happy to

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<v Speaker 1>welcome to the thirty five Caresey Morning, So Lisa's Skinner,

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<v Speaker 1>a behavioral health are expert in the field of Alzheimer's

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<v Speaker 1>and related Dimentia's twenty year career as a community councilor

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<v Speaker 1>and regional director of a senior care facilities, She's helped

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of families find the best care options for their

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<v Speaker 1>loved ones, holds an administrator's license through the California Department of

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<v Speaker 1>Social Services, and has written a book Were Talking About Today.

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<v Speaker 1>Truth Lies in Alzheimer's, Its secret faces. Lisa, it's a

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<v Speaker 1>pleasure to have you on the program.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, good morning. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it

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<v Speaker 2>very much.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm happy to my personal experience with Alzheimer's. My father

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<v Speaker 1>passed away a couple of years ago as a consequence

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<v Speaker 1>of Alzheimer's, and we had to live with and cope

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<v Speaker 1>with the decline, the gradual and then accelerating decline of

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<v Speaker 1>his memory and his ability to take care of himself,

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<v Speaker 1>and ultimately had to be in a full time care

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<v Speaker 1>facility because the caretakers has simply become exhausted and props

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<v Speaker 1>and so much love to my mom and how hard

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<v Speaker 1>she worked to try to keep up with them. But

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<v Speaker 1>it's such a tragic, tragic disease, so I have a

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<v Speaker 1>connection with it. But I'm kind of curious to know

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<v Speaker 1>how you got involved in treating folks with Alzheimer's and

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<v Speaker 1>what prompted you to write the book.

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<v Speaker 2>Well similar experience to yours. I've actually had eight of

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<v Speaker 2>my own family members live with one of the brain

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<v Speaker 2>diseases that caused dementia. And my very first experience was

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<v Speaker 2>about fifty years ago with my grandmother. I went over

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<v Speaker 2>to her house. She worked very close to me, I

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<v Speaker 2>grew up with her, and I thought it was just

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<v Speaker 2>going to be a normal conversation. We sat down and

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<v Speaker 2>she started telling me about these birds that were living

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<v Speaker 2>in her mattress and they would come out at night

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<v Speaker 2>and peck her face. And then she pointed to her

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<v Speaker 2>walls and asking, you see those rats running all over

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<v Speaker 2>the place. They're invading my home. And then finally she

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<v Speaker 2>told me that there were these men who were constantly

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<v Speaker 2>breaking into her home. They were stealing her personal possessions,

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<v Speaker 2>her jewelry, and she was convinced that they were going

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<v Speaker 2>to do away with her and take over her life.

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<v Speaker 2>So what I was witnessing, I mean, I was a teenager,

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<v Speaker 2>unbeknownst to me, was a delusion, yeah, or a false

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<v Speaker 2>belief with the birds living in her mattress, a hallucination

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<v Speaker 2>with the rats running all over the house. And another

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<v Speaker 2>common symptom that we see with dimension and Alzheimer's disease

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<v Speaker 2>is paranoia and suspiciousness. And I had no idea that

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<v Speaker 2>there was even anything wrong with my grandmother. This was

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<v Speaker 2>the first time that I saw any signs of anything unusual.

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<v Speaker 2>And I asked my mother, you know, I just had

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<v Speaker 2>the most bizarre visit with Grandma, but it seems like

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<v Speaker 2>there's something wrong with her. And she says, yeah, she's

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<v Speaker 2>been diagnosed with what they call back then, senile dementia.

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<v Speaker 2>And I said, well, why didn't you tell me? I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>I was completely caught off guard. I didn't know what

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<v Speaker 2>to do. I didn't know what to say. He says,

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<v Speaker 2>we don't talk about this, and that was really the

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<v Speaker 2>mindset back then when it came to, you know, brain diseases,

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<v Speaker 2>and because people really thought it was a mental health

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<v Speaker 2>issue back then. So anyway, I ended up going to

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<v Speaker 2>getting my degree in college and I went My degree

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<v Speaker 2>was in human behavior, and I was absolutely fascinated by it.

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<v Speaker 2>So I had an opportunity to take this position in

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<v Speaker 2>an elder care facility called a community counselor, and basically

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<v Speaker 2>it was helping families. I would do all the assessments

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<v Speaker 2>and explain to them what the advantages were of senior

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<v Speaker 2>living and memory care and assisted living. And I just

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<v Speaker 2>ended up working my way up to this regional director

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<v Speaker 2>position and I ended up managing five buildings and training

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<v Speaker 2>all the staff, and I received a lot of training

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<v Speaker 2>myself on better practices and what a new ideology that

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<v Speaker 2>was basically becoming popular called a person centered approach to

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<v Speaker 2>care versus the therapy that was being used for people

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<v Speaker 2>living with dementia at the time, which was called reality

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<v Speaker 2>orientation therapy. And what that meant was if a person

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<v Speaker 2>living with dementia was having a false belief, if they

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<v Speaker 2>were confused about the time of day, or the day

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<v Speaker 2>of the week, or anything else, we were expected to

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<v Speaker 2>correct them and kind of steer them back into our reality,

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<v Speaker 2>which was what was current true. And we just found

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<v Speaker 2>through decades of that practice that it didn't work because,

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<v Speaker 2>as you probably realized with your own personal experience, once

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<v Speaker 2>a person living with dementia is locked onto a belief,

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<v Speaker 2>there is absolutely nothing anybody can say or do to

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<v Speaker 2>change that belief until they've kind of, you know, change

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<v Speaker 2>it themselves.

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<v Speaker 1>And right, so you got to kind of you have

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<v Speaker 1>to kind of roll with it.

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<v Speaker 2>Then you do. That's exactly That's exactly what you know.

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<v Speaker 2>Years and years and years of trying to effectively communicate

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<v Speaker 2>with somebody with cognitive decline, with brain disease, we found

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<v Speaker 2>out that it was just really exacerbating anxiety and anger

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<v Speaker 2>and frustration and you know, really led to catastrophic reactions

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<v Speaker 2>and meltdowns. So I was trained on this new approach

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<v Speaker 2>to dementia communication, and you know, in the earliest phase

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<v Speaker 2>of it, and I saw firsthand the difference it made

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<v Speaker 2>in the lives of everybody involved, the family members, the caregivers,

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<v Speaker 2>the people living with dementia, and really became an expert

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<v Speaker 2>in it, and I started teaching it and bringing it

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<v Speaker 2>to people's attention and teaching people how to approach these

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<v Speaker 2>situations like I had with my grandmother. Okay, how do

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<v Speaker 2>you respond with somebody all of a sudden, that of

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<v Speaker 2>nowhere starts telling you that birds are living in their mattress,

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<v Speaker 2>coming out at night and pecking at your face. You

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<v Speaker 2>don't argue with them and try to say you're crazy,

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<v Speaker 2>that couldn't even possibly happen. You join them where they're.

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<v Speaker 1>At, like what kind of birds? What color are they?

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<v Speaker 1>They're just kind of again rolling with it and just

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<v Speaker 1>acknowledging what they think and not resisting them on the cap,

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<v Speaker 1>which brings about that frustration you're talking about.

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<v Speaker 2>That's exactly what was discovered to be true. And so

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<v Speaker 2>this is basically what led me to write the book,

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<v Speaker 2>was to raise awareness about what living with Alzheimer's disease

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<v Speaker 2>was truly like for the people who have it, the

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<v Speaker 2>family members, the caregivers, And because I discovered in my

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<v Speaker 2>career helping families that probably the biggest piece that was

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<v Speaker 2>missing to this whole entire puzzle was people's lack of

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<v Speaker 2>understanding of what these diseases are doing to the brain

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<v Speaker 2>and the symptoms that show up and the behaviors that

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<v Speaker 2>show up. And once people understand that and then are

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<v Speaker 2>properly guide on how to effectively respond, then the whole

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<v Speaker 2>entire experience and journey for everybody involved can be so

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<v Speaker 2>much less stressful, and they can focus on what really matters. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>quality time with their loved one, at least.

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<v Speaker 1>The Skinner, author of the book we're talking about today two,

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<v Speaker 1>thrives on Alzheimer's at Secret Faces, which provides you with

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<v Speaker 1>all this information that you know I'm thinking about. You

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<v Speaker 1>were focusing on the frustration and the anxiety that the Alzheimer's,

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<v Speaker 1>the struggle the person struggling with Alzheimer's gets when you

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<v Speaker 1>resist what their perception of reality is. But that in turn,

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<v Speaker 1>their resistance to that also agitates the person trying to

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<v Speaker 1>tell them that no, they're not birds in the bed.

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<v Speaker 1>So you both get on this downhill slope and nobody

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<v Speaker 1>benefits from that. I can see the point you're making

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<v Speaker 1>on this. You can't cure the Alzheimer's. This person is

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<v Speaker 1>going to carry those beliefs. There's no pill that they

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<v Speaker 1>can take to make it go away. There's no point

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<v Speaker 1>in arguing with them about it, right, I mean, isn't

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<v Speaker 1>that kind of what it boils down to?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you're spot on, absolutely spot on on that. You

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<v Speaker 2>You couldn't have said that oral, realistic truth. Yeah, but

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<v Speaker 2>you've experienced it.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, And I resisted, you know, I was, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>like he wouldn't remember my mom's face or who she was.

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<v Speaker 1>And I was like, why don't we get the wedding

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<v Speaker 1>pictures out and look, you know you here's your here's

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<v Speaker 1>when you got married. And and I remember my sister

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<v Speaker 1>telling me, Brian know that that's not going to work.

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<v Speaker 1>That's pointless. And it sounded so cold. It seemed like

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<v Speaker 1>such a simple solution, and it's not. You learn that

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<v Speaker 1>over time having lived through it. So I'm glad you

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<v Speaker 1>wrote the book and provide people with this and maybe

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<v Speaker 1>take the weight off their shoulders that they don't need

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<v Speaker 1>to run around and argue with this person struggling and

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<v Speaker 1>it's not worth the time effort, and it makes everybody

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<v Speaker 1>worse off. I just appreciate that perspective. Now before we

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<v Speaker 1>part company at Lisa Skinner, I we all have what

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<v Speaker 1>we call senior moments. How can people distinguish between normal

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<v Speaker 1>aging forgetfulness? Because coming up on age sixty this September,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I do have my days and mild versus

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<v Speaker 1>mild cognitive IMPAIRMENTI and dementia. There are there telltale signs

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<v Speaker 1>that we can like be a red flag to people.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, yes, and what you just described happens to all

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<v Speaker 2>of us probably starting around when we put our phone down,

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<v Speaker 2>we can't remember where it is you find our car keys,

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<v Speaker 2>we walk into a room and I would remember why

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<v Speaker 2>we were Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>You made me feel better, very very normal.

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<v Speaker 2>But to that point it starts freaking people out because

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<v Speaker 2>the first thing they think of is, oh, is this

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<v Speaker 2>the first sign that I'm going to get Alzheimer's dizzy?

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<v Speaker 1>Right, especially when your dad passed away from it and

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<v Speaker 1>your mom's mother passed away from it too, So it's like, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>got me completely freaked out.

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<v Speaker 2>It's like, uh oh, and it is there were one

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<v Speaker 2>fear that people have believe it or not starting about

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<v Speaker 2>the age of fifty five, and you can can't blame them.

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<v Speaker 2>So the best way to kind of described in a nutshell,

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<v Speaker 2>because we don't have a whole lot of time to

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<v Speaker 2>really go into no, no, just brief speaking to which

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<v Speaker 2>you're out of time in the segment.

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<v Speaker 1>Conclude your thought leaside because we need to get this information.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, So the frequency and the severity of the memory

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<v Speaker 2>loss is really key. So if it's just happening once

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<v Speaker 2>in a while, then that can pretty much be considered

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<v Speaker 2>normal age forgetfulness. If it starts to happen more often,

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<v Speaker 2>more frequently, and more severely, then it's probably moved into

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<v Speaker 2>more uh, you know, a more obvious stage of miild

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<v Speaker 2>cognitive impairment. Okay. What really separates between those and full

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<v Speaker 2>blown dementia is if the underlying cause is truly a

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<v Speaker 2>brain disease like Alzheimer's causing the memory deficits. Okay, and

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<v Speaker 2>most people aren't even diagnosed till they're in their mid

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<v Speaker 2>stages because that is when the symptoms become so obvious, okay,

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<v Speaker 2>that you need to go get a professional assessment. I yeah, starting.

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<v Speaker 1>I appreciate you writing the book to provide this information

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<v Speaker 1>because there's so much of this floating around out in

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<v Speaker 1>the world. It seems like it's becoming a more and

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<v Speaker 1>more common phenomenon. The truth lies in Alzheimer's its secret faces.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for your time this morning with my listeners,

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<v Speaker 1>and thanks again for writing the book. Lisa. I appreciate

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<v Speaker 1>the work that you're doing.