Driving and Dementia: 11 Steps to Take if a Person Should No Longer Drive

Do you have a family member or friend with early-stage Alzheimer's disease or another dementia who is showing signs of losing their ability to drive safely? This is one of the most challenging issues to deal with, whether we are living with dementia ourselves or are a care partner for a person with dementia.

Two weeks ago I posted the first article in a two-part series on driving and dementia, "5 Important Questions to Ask Yourself" if you are concerned about a person's driving but are not sure they have reached a point where they should give up the keys. That post also included tips on how to talk with the person with dementia about the issue over time, and to try to make the decision together, if possible.

My post this week on caregivers.com, "Senior Caregiving: 11 Steps to Keep an Unsafe Driver off the Road," outlines further steps you can take to either

a) persuade a person to retire from driving, or

b) make sure that they no longer have access to the wheel. 

Read "11 Steps to Keep an Unsafe Driver off the Road" here.

Women are at the Epicenter of the Dementia Epidemic

Mom and me about 10 years before her symptoms of dementia beganDid you know that 65% of all people with Alzheimer's disease are women? That 60% of Alzheimer's caregivers are women? That a woman age 65 or older has a 1 in 6 chance of developing Alzheimer's disease, compared to 1 in 11 for a man? 

I have been thinking of writing a second book (expanding on the information in my first book's appendices) tentatively entitled "A Woman's Guide to Lowering Your Risk of Alzheimer's Disease," because as women we learn about our risk factors in a piecemeal fashion--a little here and there, and we often hear nothing about the less well-known risk factors, such as having sleep apnea or insulin resistance. We're also so busy taking care of others that we let our own health slide. 

Today the Alzheimer's Association released its 2014 Facts and Figures Report, which includes some statistics on women and Alzheimer's that I hadn't seen before. For a summary of that information, and a cool 1.5-minute video, check out their webpage. 

For now, a second book will have to wait, but I hope to share more information in this blog about the particular risk factors for women, and the steps we can take to reduce our risk, particularly if we have a family history of Alzheimer's disease or another dementia.

To read more about women and Alzheimer's, you can purchase a report by Maria Shriver and the Alzheimer's Association called "The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's" ($9.46). 

Driving and Early-stage Dementia: 5 Important Questions to Ask

Nine years ago, when my mother, Judy, was living with the early stages of dementia, I witnessed her getting lost on a familiar route in her small town. We were on our way to meet with her doctor of 25 years, and I was driving behind her because she was going to do some errands on her own afterwards. Not only did Mom drive around the block a couple of times looking for her doctor's office, when she pulled to the side of the road she drove the car into a ditch. I had to pull her out and call a tow truck.

Even though I knew Mom was worried about her memory, part of me denied that she really needed to stop driving. Denial about this issue can be very strong in many caregivers, and I was no exception.  In our case, Mom agreed to stop driving only because she was moving in with me and she knew she would never find her way around on the unfamiliar streets of my city. Many caregivers, however, find themselves in a prolonged battle with their loved ones around this issue.

In an article for caregivers.com today I offer

•  a road map of 5 questions that can help you decide whether or not your loved one should drop driving, and
• suggestions about how you can talk to them about it and include them in the decision, if possible, as your "care partner."  

Read more here:  "5 Crucial Signs that a Person Should Stop Driving"

Are You Caring for a Person with a Rare Disease?

My sweet Andrew with his Grammy, my momThirty million people in the U.S. are living with a rare disease, and an estimated 350 million world-wide. Often, it's difficult for them and their care partners to find information and support.

That was the case for me when our son, Andrew, developed a rare disease when he was 8 years old. The disease made his esophagus swell up, and he couldn't swallow solid food. The only thing he could eat was pureed soup. It took me months to find a doctor who recognized the symptoms, but fortunately, after a year of steroids and avoiding wheat and dairy, Andrew's symptoms disappeared, and he's been disease-free for 10 years. Not everyone is that lucky. 

In my post this week for caregivers.com, I review a brand-new website for rare disease caregivers from the Caregiver Action Network called Caring for Rare Disease Caregivers: A Guide for Family Caregivers of Loved Ones with Rare Diseases. 

Even if you are not caring for a person with a rare disease, it's worth checking out this website. It's full of information that will be useful for all care partners, including those who are caring for person with dementia. 

Read more about this new website here. 

A New Book I Highly Recommend: "The Caregivers"

A brand-new book, "The Caregivers: A Support Group's Stories of Slow Loss, Courage, and Love," by journalist Nell Lake (Scribner, Feb. 2014), is one of the best books I have read about what life is really like for family caregivers. For those of us who are already caring for a family member or friend, the book provides reassurance that our experiences and feelings are normal. For those who have not yet been “called,” it’s a book of great depth and spirit that will light the way ahead.

Lake observes the members of a caregiver support group at her local hospital, following their stories as they unfold over two years. She is interested in writing a book about caregiving partly because her maternal grandmother, who was diagnosed with cancer in her late 70s, committed suicide rather than “lose control” of her life and be dependent on others. Lake’s own mother is still vital and independent, but Lake wants to learn more about caregiving so she can find ways to navigate her relationship with her mother if her mother needs care. Lake is also aware that, with more people living longer, providing quality, affordable long-term care and support for family caregivers is one of our greatest public health issues.

Nell Lake, author of "The Caregivers"Led by a social worker, the support group reflects the surrounding community:  white and mostly middle-class. (Lake acknowledges the inherent limitations of that fact.) As Lake observes the group, she becomes like a caregiver herself, visiting the group members in their homes and their loved one’s facilities, and sharing in some caregiving tasks. She comes to know the families like a friend, and the resulting stories are deeply moving, as engrossing as a well-wrought novel.

Read the rest of the review on caregivers.com.