Helpful Sites for Care Partners

We recently received two lists of links of for care partners that we believe are worth passing on. The first is from Natalie Kelly, who represents a group of educators and librarians called Forever Curious. The commentary is mine:

Transportation Resources for Older Adults
A very thorough brochure from always helpful Eldercare.gov that lists many suggestions for tranportation once a person can no longer drive. It also lists some agencies to contact for more suggestions in your area.

Selling a Home with Modifications for Older Adults
This valuable group of articles offered by Home City Real Estate are about so much more than selling a handicap-modified home. Anyone with a loved one whose daily living skills are challenged living at home needs to read this. It covers the types of modifications a person can do to make living easier, how these modifications will affect resale value in different areas of the country and how to do these modifications to avoid damaging resale value.

Fall Prevention
A brochure from the National Council on Aging that offers lists of programs to prevent falls by area and several lists on tips for preventing falls. The information is good but the links require patience--they are slow to load.

Assistive Technology Buying Guide
This extensive list of articles was compiled by RetailMeNot for their online shopping advisor, The Real Deal. They accurately advertize it as "Everything you need to know for buying assistive technology smartly." The articles cover everything from what is Assistive Technology and the equipment involved to where to find the best deals, and even how to get at least part of the cost covered. A great read before you buy any of this kind of equipment.

Special Needs Seniors: Planning for the Future of this Vulnerable Population
Retiring Wise is a blog by OneReverseMortgage of Quicken Loans. This particular blog entry discusses financial, medical, communication, and other concerns that seniors face as they age, with an extensive list of links to national, state and private agencies that offer assistance. This article also addresses the advantages of planning ahead, with information about Special Needs Trust, Long Term Care Insurance, and other things to consider early on. A must read, the earlier in the dementia journey the better.

Legal Guide for Newly Disabled Seniors
This article by Just Great Lawyers discusses the issues that every person with a disability and their care partner faces, including dealing with the change to being disabled, applying for services, protecting one's legal, financial and medical rights and more, with links galore for each subject. Every dementia care partner should read this no matter where they are on their journey.

Brain Support Network Blog
The second list comes from Robin Riddle and the Brain Support Network. I've written about their work in helping people donate brains, but now they have a blog that offers lots of information for care partners. Check it out. If you'd like to have the blogs emailed regularly to you, join their email list for LBD and general caregiving. Here is a list of some of the recent blogs:
* "Living Guilt Free" - notes from a one-hour talk
* "Respite Care: Finding and Choosing Respite Services"
* "Grieving Before a Death: Understanding Anticipatory Grief"
* "How do we cope with anger as a caregiver"?
* "13 Secrets That Make Caregiving Easier"
* Urinary problems in Parkinson's - webinar notes
* Complementary and alternative medicine in Parkinson's - webinar notes
* "Beyond Alzheimer's Disease" (including LBD) - webinar notes
* Overview of LBD symptoms and treatment - webinar notes
* Johns Hopkins Overview of Dementia with Lewy Bodies
* Five E’s of empowered living with chronic illness

Happy reading!

We love and welcome comments but we will not print any that advertise a product or a commercial website. This is especially true for testimonials about miraculous Parkinson's cures.

* Acronyms:
LBD: Lewy body dementia
PD: Parkinson's disease
PlwD: person living with dementia
DLB: dementia with Lewy bodies
PDD: Parkinson's disease with dementia
PlwD, PD, LBD, PDD, etc: person/people living with dementia
PlwPD, LBD, PDD, etc.: person/people living with PD, LBD, PDD, etc.
MCI: mild cognitive impairment
MCI-LB: the form of MCI that precedes LBD
BPSD: behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia

For information about Lewy body disorders, read our books:
A Caregivers’ Guide to Lewy Body Dementia
Managing Cognitive Issues in Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementia

Helen and James Whitworth are not doctors, lawyers or social workers. As informed caregivers, they share the information here for educational purposes only. It should never be used instead of a professional's advice.