Nice list of resources! One I'd like to add is the Alzheimer Foundation of America--they do great work.

Thank you for the posting very informative and helpful. Your post will help a lot of people in a very difficult time. Just more proof of the power of librarianship!

CB1's Seniors' Guide for Lower Manhattan: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mancb1/downloads/pdf/About_District/SeniorGuidev...

A library user need resources on how to care for an elderly parent. I emailed her the link to your blog, today. Very useful. Thank you.

The symptoms of Alzheimers Disease are similar to those of stroke. Other than symptoms, there is no actual test to determine Alzheimers. If, for example, someone has impaired
hearing or deafness,it may be considered a sign of Alzheimers, because the afflicted individual may hear
and misinterpret a question and reply in a manner that
is in no way connected to the question being asked. In
other words, some times other problems can incorrectly
be diagnosed as Alzheimers.

There are ways to prevent Alzheimers. A study was done and the following facts were noted in people who got Alzheimers
Disease:

1. They got very little fresh air and exercise.
2. They completely lacked green vegetables such as
broccili, spinach, green peas and avacatoes in their
diets. Vitamin B is also a source of great power
in having great health.
3. A major cause of Alzheimers Disease is isolation.
Older people who do not communicate with others
and get no feedback from the outside world are
much more likely to get Alzheimers. The lack of
communication leads to an unawareness of the passage
of time, because there is no schedule nor events to
punctuate such an awareness. Therefore, a person who
has Alzheimers Disease may not know what day, week,
month or year it is.
4. People who read all the time, do crosswords or
simulated tests which involve memory functions are
much less likely to get Alzheimers than other people.
A person's memory is similar to playing the piano
in as much as the more a person practices the more
natural the skill of music, or in Alzheimers Disease
memory tremendously improves.
5. Learning a new language is excellent exercize for
strengthening the memory.
6. Exercise is very important in improving life for
Alzheimers patients. Exercise helps to have a
steady bloodflow to the brain. It also is very
useful in preventing such diseases as flebitis
7. A study showed that there is a high rate of stroke
and heart disease among caretakers of Alzheimers
patients. This is because such care is extremely
stressful. It requires infinite patience to
explain matters to someone with Alzheimers.
I know of one instant where an Alzheimer's patient
had an appointment with the dentist on a Tuesday.
Although she went for the appointment, the following
Tuesday she put the appointment on her calendar again.
Her secretary removed it and reminded her of the fact
that she had already been to the dentist. Nevertheless,
she continued to put the appoint back on the calendar
every Tuesday. In another situation, a Grandmother told
her daughter that she was very sorry that she, the
daughter and her grandchild had forgotten to come to
see her at Christmas. However, they had been to the
Christmas celebration with the others in the family.

It becomes disheartening when the caretaker realizes
he or she is not recognized by the patient. Being a
caretaker for an Alzheimer's patient is as stressful
as caring for a child with ADD (Attention Deficit
Disorder). A caretaker should be someone who has
excellent health and is very unflappable.
7. People should pray for victims of Alzheimers or
stroke. Their view of the world is continually
narrowing and their power of reaching out to
others becomes hardly negibable.