Dementia is one of the most important, but often overlooked, health care issues related to older African Americans.   In fact, research shows that African Americans are two to three times more likely to develop a dementia disorder (compared to European Americans) and at the same…

Depression is NOT a normal part of aging, but depression IS the most prevalent mental health condition among older adults. Unfortunately, depression in late life often goes undetected and untreated largely due to the false belief that with age comes depression. This is why it…

Today, I want to talk about how to challenge our stereotypes about older adults.   Ageism is Bias and discrimination based on age and it affects older adults more than any other age group. Check out my episode from last week, where I talk about ageism and how…

What is Ageism? Ageism is bias and discrimination based on age and it affects older adults more than any other age group. To start, I want to give you a few examples of what ageism looks like in every day life.  Start by thinking about older…

Answers to some of the most frequently asked questions I get about delirium What is delirium? Delirium is an acute medical problem often resulting in changes in cognitive function and mentation (e.g., the way the brain thinks, remembers, processes information, etc). It can create problems…

In this episode of the Caring for Aging Parents Show, I interview Lauren Dykovitz, author of Learning to Weather the Storm: A Story of Life, Love, and Alzheimer’s about: Her journey as a caregiver over the past 10 years The challenges of being 25 when her mom was…

Do you know if the medications your older loved ones are taking are actually harming them? You might have a guess, but how do you actually know?! Thankfully there is a resource, called the Beers List, put out by the American Geriatrics Society, that lists potentially…

  Caring for an aging parent who has been hospitalized on a psychiatric inpatient unit is incredibly challenging.   Older adults who end up needing psychiatric inpatient care may have a longstanding mental health condition, a new mental health condition, a mental health condition with…

  One of the most common questions y’all send to me and that I’m also asked frequently in my own practice with families are questions surrounding hallucinations, delusions, and psychosis.   So, today, Psychiatrist, Dr. Lisa Frank, helps us understand psychosis, hallucinations, delusions, and antipsychotic…

  One of the most complicated situations families that I work with are faced with has to do with older adults with dementia developing a delirium.   Is the dementia worsening? Or is it a delirium? It’s so hard to tell. In this week’s episode,…

  In this second interview with MJ Grant, MJ shares the most intimate details of an end of life conversation she had with her dad, Manley “Mannie” Grant.   In this interview, MJ also shares about how it was discovered that her dad was deaf…

In this first of a two-part interview,  I have the incredible honor of interviewing Mary Jane, “MJ”, Grant about her experiences with caring for her mom with dementia. You may remember MJ Grant’s video that went viral, called “Dementia Can Be Beautiful”. It’s had more than…