Different questions on the first call
Not just what is difficult, but when in the day it is difficult, and what happens when someone gets it wrong.
Dementia care
What a dementia credential changes in the house
Martin is a Certified Dementia Practitioner. Here is what that means in practice, rather than on a business card.
Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP)
Most of the veteran families who call are also living with a memory diagnosis, often one nobody has said out loud yet. The VA conversation and the dementia conversation are the same conversation.
A dementia household is not a frailer version of an ordinary one. The risks are different, the days are shaped differently, and a caregiver who has not been trained for it will do sensible things that make the afternoon worse.
What it changes
A different caregiver match
Temperament and pace matter more than availability. A caregiver who is brisk and efficient can be exactly the wrong person for a four o'clock.
The family gets warned in advance
Sundowning, refusal at the bathroom door, the accusation about the missing purse. It is easier to hear about these before the first time than after.
Plans that expect change
What works in March will not work in September. The care plan is written to be revisited, not defended.
Music and memory
Music reaches people in dementia when little else does. That is work Martin does alongside Teri Rosado.