AIRED: December 12, 2016– 11 am PST
TITLE: “Connecting in the Land of Dementia: Creative Activities to Explore Together”
SPECIAL GUEST: Deborah Shouse and Ron Zoglin
“A ‘must read’ for every care partner because it really helps you to look at things differently! Connecting in the Land of Dementia is very special in the way it provides you with hundreds of suggestions on how to be a good care partner for someone with dementia and enjoy this yourself as well. Deborah inspired me by bringing together so many positive examples of using creativity to engage with people with dementia.” – Marc Wortmann, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s Disease International.
Finding the connection with a loved one afflicted with dementia is a challenge millions of people face: One in ten Americans has a family member with Alzheimer’s, and one in three knows someone with the disease. Too often, people living with dementia are entertained instead of engaged. Research shows that artistic and imaginative activities reduce the need for psychotropic medications. Connecting in the Land of Dementia: Creative Activities to Explore Together, offers care partners practical, hands-on ideas for meaningful, creative activities and creative tips for busy care partners, offering quick and easy forms of renewal and respite.
Deborah Shouse, interviewed dozens of experts who demonstrated that creativity and imagination live on, even when memory falters. Doing activities together offer meaningful ways to engage and create together. These activities can deepen relationships, renew hope, and ignite a sense of purpose in people who are living with dementia and their care partners.
Connecting in the Land of Dementia also features the innovative ideas of about seventy thought leaders in the field of dementia and creative areas such as music, movement, cooking, nature, storytelling, poetry, movies, technology, and more.
Some of the benefits readers can look forward to when they do the activities in this book together — increased energy, increased socialization, reduced anxiety, and chances to express yourselves in new and meaningful ways. The ideas are easy to do and they are adaptable to all ages and abilities. Caregivers can simply incorporate them into their daily routine and they will enrich their time together.
ABOUT DEBORAH & RON ZOGLIN
Deborah Shouse and Ron Zoglin are former family caregivers, Alzheimer’s advocates, writers, and performers. They have a passion for helping people find the gifts and blessings in the care partners’ journey through dementia.
Deborah is the author of the Love in the Land of Dementia and the newly published Connecting in the Land of Dementia: Creative Activities to Explore Together.
She is also a writer, speaker, editor, creativity catalyst, and dementia advocate. Other books by Deborah are Love in the Land of Dementia: Finding Hope in the Caregiver’s Journey. She has written for such publications as the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Reader’s Digest, Woman’s Day and Family Circle. She writes a weekly column for the Kansas City Star and has authored and co-authored a number of books. Her writing has been featured in more than four dozen Chicken Soup books. She resides in Kansas City, MO.
Ron Zoglin is a writer, professional storyteller and owner of Brookside Antiques and Appraisers in Kansas City, Missouri. Antiques dovetail into Ron’s passion for storytelling. As a professional storyteller, Ron has performed for businesses, universities, and national and international conferences. He is the voice on the audiotapes, Even Mystics Have Bills to Pay and The Adventures of the Little Green Dragon. Ron feels that stories add a warmth and meaning that complement and enhance life in this technological age.
