Brain Health | Children's Edition - Explaining Alzheimer's Disease
In our latest Children’s Edition of the Brain Blog, we decided to focus on how to have a conversation with your children about a family member's Dementia / Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosis. When your loved one receives that diagnosis it not only impacts that person’s life but the lives of family and friends. So with that being said, we have assembled some resources you can use to have those conversations with your children and teens.
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The Alzheimer’s Association has many wonderful resources for parents regarding explaining Dementia and Alzheimer’s. We have linked a booklet on their website Parents Guide: Helping Children and Teens understand Alzheimer’s Disease
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Books are a great way to start a conversation with both younger children and teens. It helps to facilitate discussion and questions. Below are some of the books for both children and teens:
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Weeds in Nana’s Garden
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Grandpa and Lucy
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Still My Grandpa
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Curveball, The Year I Lost My Grip
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The Human Brain: Inside Your Body’s Control Room
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According to the National Institue on Aging when talking with your children about Alzeheimer’s or Dementia make sure to answer their questions simply and honestly. For example, you might tell a young child, “Grandma has an illness that makes it hard for her to remember things.”
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Spend time together with your loved one - The Alzheimer’s Association has put together a list of activities:
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Planting in the garden
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Nature Walk
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Listening to their favorite music
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Complete a puzzle
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Below are links to both National Institue on Aging and The Alzehimer’s Association - both have additional resources on how to communicate with your children about a loved one’s diagnosis of Dementia/Alzheimer’s.
Links:
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/helping-kids-understand-alzheimers-disease
https://www.alz.org/help-support/resources/kids-teens/for_parents_teachers
Stay tuned for more Children’s Edition of our Brain Blog.