These Three Things

A dementia diagnosis can be terrifying and debilitating, but this unique book can provide caregivers—whether they are family members or professionals—with practical and simple tools to effectively address behavior and communication issues that may occur when providing care to those with dementia.  These Three Things takes everyday situations (dressing, hygiene, meals, etc.) and looks at them from the perspective of a person with dementia with the goal of improving communication between patient and caregiver and minimizing undesirable behaviors. Each scenario is clearly outlined, followed by three practical action steps that a caregiver can utilize to solve the problem at hand, regardless of where the person is in their dementia journey. While caregiving can be very rewarding, it is also important that caregivers take time to check in with themselves and their needs, a chapter on caregiver stress with suggestions for self care is also included. This book can be a starting point for education on dementia, or it can be used as an intervention.

Written by three experts in elder care, These Three Things gives caregivers choices that they can easily make in the moment for common issues as well as encouraging creative problem solving in all other situations not covered in the text. The authors’ approach to caregiving comes from within. Caregiving does not always have to have a high financial cost, nor does it always require large time commitments, as many of the suggestions in this book demonstrate.