When you read a good quality digital article or blog and think you know just about everything that it contains, check the hyperlinks — they may bring you some surprises. In fact, a small discrete hyperlink may open the door to resources that you don’t want to miss. In my case I discovered a set of terrific educational videos at the website of Johns Hopkins physician, Peter Rabins, produced for adult children and seniors who are helping to care for a family member with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
The defining characteristic of a blog — what makes it different from non-digital reading — is the use of hyperlinks that connect to related material. In theory, every good blog post presents information and ideas along with a few hyperlinks that connect to pertinent knowledge in other locations. I know that I’ve read a truly excellent post when a link leads me to new and exciting resources.
A January 20, 2012 post in the New Old Age blog illustrated just how beautifully the blogging process works.
In her post The Caregiver’s Bookshelf: An Alzheimer’s Classic, Paula Spann writes about the 30th anniversary of The 36 Hour Day, an Alzheimer’s disease resource book by Dr. Peter Rabins and Nancy Mace. I already knew about The 36 Hour Day, and I read the entire post quickly because I wanted to learn a bit more about what might be new in the updated edition. So quickly that I almost ignored a hyperlink near the end.
At the bottom of Spann’s post I discovered the link that leads to Dr. Rabins’ Johns Hopkins website.
This site features seven videos with Dr. Rabins and family members sharing their experiences and thoughts on various aspects of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Some videos focus on diagnosis, some on caregiving, and others strategies and skills that are required when coping with a patient’s alternate reality. All of them chock full of information. When I finished watching the videos I had one reaction — I wished I had seen them when my husband’s mother was in the last year of her life.
If one of your family member’s suffers from some type of dementia, take a few minutes to watch the following videos. Each is brimming with information. They include:
- How Do You Know If You Have Alzheimer’s Disease
- Driving
- Learning Not to Argue
- Behaviors
- Caregiver Guilt
- The Nursing Home Decision
- Dressing and Bathing
As Our Parents Age So Do We 