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Paula Spencer Scott, Senior Health Writer

Paula Spencer Scott is the author of Surviving Alzheimer's: Practical Tips and Soul-Saving Wisdom for Caregivers and much of the Alzheimer's and caregiving content on Caring.com.

Scott has specialized in women's life-stage concerns (baby care, family care, self-care, elder care) from her first job as an editor at 50 Plus Magazine through stints as a Woman's Day columnist and coauthor of health books with doctors at Harvard, UCLA, Duke, and Arizona State. She's a 2011 Met Life Foundation Journalists in Aging fellow, awarded by the Gerontological Society of America and New American Media, and completed a National Press Foundation's Alzheimer's Disease 2012 fellowship.

In the late 2000s, she lost both her parents, in their 80s, to cancer; her father also had dementia and stroke. "In short order during that phase," she says, "I experienced just about everything that's on this site, from dealing with their illnesses to selling the family home and moving Dad, plus advance directives, end-of-life planning, hospice, death -- and stress."

Follow her on Twitter @PSpencerScott.

Recently Published on Caring.com

How to Encourage Exercise for Someone With Dementia — Feb 07, 2013
Exercise has been called the "fountain of youth" for its countless health-preserving benefits, including safeguarding healthy people against mental declines. Researchers be...
11 Tips for a Terrific Visit With an Elderly Loved One — Feb 06, 2013
Unsure what to say or do when you visit an older loved one? Worry about running out things to say? Many people make brief visits to those in assisted living, rehab faciliti...
How to Handle Someone With Alzheimer's Who Wanders — Jan 08, 2013
If someone with Alzheimer's wanders, first consider the causes "Wandering," which includes pacing restlessly in a room, meandering aimlessly through the house, or wande...
Clinical Assessment for Alzheimer's — Dec 19, 2012
Alzheimer's disease can't be diagnosed with one test. Instead, doctors rely on a detailed medical workup known as a clinical assessment to diagnose Alzheimer's and other ca...
Best Resources for Alzheimer's Help — Nov 28, 2012
Coping with a loved one's dementia symptoms can be stressful beyond belief. Whether symptoms are caused by Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, knowing what to expect a...
Home Aide Evaluation — Nov 14, 2012
How can you rest assured that an in-home care provider is doing his or her job well? Check periodically that care tasks are being performed well, by watching the person dem...
10 Clues Your Aging Parents Need Help — Nov 09, 2012
Maybe you’re planning a visit to see one or both of your aging parents after a period of not seeing them. Like a lot of adult children of elderly parents, you may worry abo...
10 Key Resources for Seniors Who Need In-Home Care — Oct 31, 2012
Most people don't start as caregivers knowing the ropes. To the contrary, most caregivers tend to learn as they go along, with a fair amount of wrong turns and struggles. W...
Alzheimer's Disease Support Groups — Oct 26, 2012
The basics of Alzheimer's support groups Nearly every professional involved with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia recommends support groups for caregivers and lov...
Caregiver Organizations — Oct 25, 2012
Caregiving is a responsibility best managed with plenty of help. Yet many of the nearly one in four adults who are caring for another adult miss out on the bounty of resour...