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

20 Tips to Help You Get Rid of Junk — Oct 20, 2012
Helping a parent downsize for a move can be complicated. Where you see a houseful of stuff to sort and toss, your parent is apt to see treasures, essentials, and a lifetime...
Coping With Stress — Oct 05, 2012
Stressors are everywhere: needy kids, needy aging parents, work, financial worries, relationship bumps, too much traffic, not enough time -- and sometimes, all of the above...
The Stages of Alzheimer's: What to Expect — Sep 29, 2012
One vexing thing about Alzheimer's, especially in the beginning, is how its effects differ from person to person. The person you're caring for might not experienc...
What Elder Companions Do and How They Help — Sep 29, 2012
Elder companions -- sometimes called home companions, who also cater to a younger population -- do just what the name implies: provide company for people who live alone, es...
Moving to Assisted Living: Your Packing Checklist — Sep 26, 2012
What to bring? What to leave behind? If you're moving your parents into assisted living, keep in mind that they’ll still use most of the same sorts of things they're using ...
Fresh Ideas for Fun in Assisted Living — Aug 29, 2012
What's there to do all day in assisted living? Depends on where you look. The definition of "activities" is expanding as older boomers and their parents seek ways to stay c...
Who Does Well in Assisted Living, Who Doesn't — Aug 06, 2012
When home care is no longer an option for an older adult, the next choice is often assisted living. How would your loved one adjust there? "It's almost an impossible qu...
Caregiver Stress Syndrome: Who's Most Stressed? — Feb 24, 2012
Everyone has a breaking point: Laura Patyk's came while caring for three live-in elderly parents (including her father-in-law with dementia and her mom with congestive hear...
How to Beat Caregiver Stress Syndrome and Stay Healthy — Feb 24, 2012
Call it the long shadow of caregiving: The sick person may stabilize, but the caregiver's own health worsens. Or both decline and end up needing care. Sometimes the care re...
Caregiver Stress Syndrome: What's Different for Men — Feb 24, 2012
If you're a man who's caring for an ailing loved one -- wife, mother, father, grandparent -- consider yourself warned. You're vulnerable to some different experiences from ...