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. 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. 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. 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. Tuesday November 04, 2008

    1. 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.

    2. 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...

    3. Can dementia change personality?

      Answer - Sometimes dementia can alter personality in distressing ways.

    4. 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.

  3. Wednesday October 29, 2008

    1. 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.

    2. 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.

  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. 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...

    2. 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.

    3. 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.

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

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

    5. 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...

    6. 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.

  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. 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.

    2. 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

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

      Answer - Hallucinations and delusions have many causes.

  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 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

    2. 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

    3. 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 adjusust to its loss...