Beth Spencer

Caring.com Expert

About

Beth Spencer is a social worker in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with more than 25 years of experience with families who have a member with dementia. She is coauthor of Understanding Difficult Behaviors and Moving a Relative with Memory Loss: A Family Caregiver's Guide. She directs Silver Club, early-stage and adult day programs serving individuals with Alzheimer's and related illnesses.

Recently Published on Caring.com

  1. Sunday November 30, 2008

    1. Is there a solution to an Alzheimer's patient taking off her clothing?

      Answer - A better way handle the problem of a person with Alzheimer's taking clothing off.

    2. Is it common for people with Alzhiemer's to be able to do one task but not the reverse of it?

      Answer - Why people with Alzheimer's can perform one function but not always its reverse.

    3. What's the best way to keep a parent with Alzheimer's safe from wandering at night?

      Answer - Ways to keep someone with Alzheimer's who wanders safe at night.

  2. Tuesday November 04, 2008

    1. How can I convince my mother to clean up her home so that it is safer?

      Answer - Understand why your mother with possible dementia may be living in an unsafe messy house and take baby steps to help clean it up.

    2. Can dementia change personality?

      Answer - Sometimes dementia can alter personality in distressing ways.

    3. How can I get my aunt who has dementia to leave her house...

      Answer - Many people with dementia become uncomfortable going out, even when they have been social people in the past. There are many possible reasons: Feeling discomfort in larger groups because they can no longer keep track of what is going on or follow conversations; feeling safe in their familiar environment...

    4. How can I help my mom, who has dementia, deal with seling her home and possessions and moving?

      Answer - Being present for a move can be very stressful to someone with dementia.

  3. Wednesday October 29, 2008

    1. Should my husband go to an Alzheimer's specialist for testing and diagnosis?

      Answer - A memory screening test (the Mini Mental Status Test or MMSE is one) is different from a diagnostic test when evaluating memory loss or other Alzheimer's or dementia symptoms.

    2. Should my mother with dementia be put in a care facility?

      Answer - Alzheimer's symptoms don't fluctuate from day to day, although they can with Lewy Body Dementia.

  4. Friday August 08, 2008

    1. My 87-year old mother is seeing things that are not there. What causes this?

      Answer - Delusions and hallucinations often feature in dementia. 1 Comment

  5. Thursday July 31, 2008

    1. Should me tell my mother, who has dementia and can get very emotional, that her brother has passed away?

      Answer - People with Alzheimer's have a right to be told about the deaths of those close to them.

  6. Monday July 21, 2008

    1. Is it normal for my grandfather, who has Alzheimer's and dementia, to be acting inappropriately towards other people?

      Answer - People with dementia sometimes lose social inhibitions.

    2. What can I do about my family's Alzheimer's disease denial?

      Answer - What are they denying? That she has Alzheimer's disease? That there are any problems? A diagnosis is just a label. Some people with early Alzheimer's are fine at home by themselves for a period of time. There are also many strategies that can be adapted gradually to support people in the environment they are used to for a long while...

    3. How can we cope with my dad's severe sundown syndrome?

      Answer - Some situations are challenging to handle at home without professional help.

    4. How do we get my mother-in-law, who has Alzheimer's, to allow us to clean her house or bathe her?

      Answer - Getting someone with dementia to bathe or have the house cleaned can require detective work.

    5. Our 81 year old mother was recently diagnosed with dementia. How should she be convinced that she should not be administering her own medication?

      Answer - Many people with early Alzheimer's can still manage medications, but need to be monitored.

    6. How do we explain to my mom, who has Alzheimer's, that she cannot bring all of her household items when moving in with my brother?

      Answer - First, you need to look at this from your mother's point of view. Most of us would never choose to move in with family when we have been independent, even if it is for our own good. Many people, as they grow older, worry that all the things they have worked hard for will be thrown away or devalued by their children...

  7. Wednesday July 16, 2008

    1. What can cause the parent to see things and people that are not there?

      Answer - Hallucinations and delusions are sometimes features of Alzheimer's.

  8. Wednesday July 09, 2008

    1. My mother thinks that there are people hiding in her cabinets.

      Answer - Hallucinations and delusions have many causes.

    2. How do I balance my time with the time I need to give to caring for my mother with Alzheimer's?

      Answer - Alzheimer's caregivers need balance. Here's how to find it.

    3. My mother is refusing to go into assisted living. How do we get her involved?

      Answer - Moving a relative with memory loss is a delicate issue; advice. 11 Comments

  9. Thursday May 29, 2008

    1. My grandmother is suffering from delusions, how do I convince her to see a doctor?

      Answer - You can't reason with a relative making wild accusations but she needs medical help.

  10. Monday April 28, 2008

    1. How can my dad help my mom, who has Alzheimer's, when she has a crying spell?

      Answer - Constant crying is a sign of depression, which people with Alzheimer's are especially vulnerable to.

    2. What is the best way to remove a dog from a parent with Alzheimer's?

      Answer - You don’t say whether your mother still views her dog as a companion or whether she ignores the dog completely. If the former, then you might want to try to keep the dog in the family for a while so it can visit. If someone can take the dog and bring it for frequent visits, that may help her adjust to its loss...

    3. If visiting with and talking to extended family members unsettles my father, who has Alzheimer's, should we continue while still remembers them or stop?

      Answer - Deciding whether to encourage visitors to someone in a nursing home who has Alzheimer's and is easily upset can be a tough call

    4. How do I deal with my mom, who has Alzheimer's, refusing care and assistance?

      Answer - Sometimes you reach a difficult crossroad where a parent with Alzheimer's is incapable of decisions about safety and you must intervene

  11. Thursday March 20, 2008

    1. How can I convince my father to go to an Alzheimer's adult day care?

      Answer - Advice on how to get someone with Alzheimer's or dementia to go to or to try an adult day care to give the caregiver respite from the stress of Alzheimer's care

    2. How can I help my mother-in-law with Alzheimer's to stop refusing to take her medicine?

      Answer - What caregivers can do when someone with Alzheimer's forgets to take medicine or refuses to take medicine, affecting blood pressure or other conditions on top of dementia

    3. How do we help my father, with Lewy Body Dementia, find the bathroom at night?

      Answer - Advice for caregivers on what to do when someone with dementia or Alzheimer's or Lewy Body dementia cannot find the bathroom at night

  12. Saturday September 22, 2007

    1. How do I tell strangers about my parent's Alzheimer's disease?

      Answer - Going out in public -- for example, to a restaurant, shopping, or traveling -- can be very difficult. You only need to let people know if you feel it's necessary in the particular situation, and you can do so discreetly.Many Alzheimer's Association chapters have small wallet cards that say something... 1 Comment

  13. Saturday September 08, 2007

    1. Should my mom's house remain unchanged even though she has memory problems?

      Answer - Changing the environment drastically is usually very disorienting to someone with dementia or Alzheimer's. It's best to maintain familiar surroundings.

  14. Tuesday September 04, 2007

    1. How should I tell my mom's friends that she has Alzheimer's?

      Answer - There's no single answer to the question of how to inform other people that your parent has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's because it depends so much on the person with the disease.

    2. When a person with Alzheimer's repeatedly makes mistakes, is it OK to correct her?

      Answer - It depends. After working with many people with memory loss, my feeling is that each person is different.

  15. Monday September 03, 2007

    1. What's the best way to handle criticism about the Alzheimer's care I'm giving my mom?

      Answer - It's very common for people who aren't the primary caregiver to be critical -- they often have no idea how hard day-to-day care is. So I try to make sure everyone in the family understands what all the tasks involved are. At the same time, I try to help the caregiver identify what the specific criticisms...