Tips to enjoy holidays and special occasions with your loved one with dementia

Joyful occasions including special celebrations and the holiday season may be stressful for several reasons. This is especially the case for individuals caring for a loved one with dementia. In this webinar, Maureen Sirianni, a Certified Validation Teacher and Memory Care Community Outreach Specialist for Country Meadows and Ecumenical Retirement Community, provides tips and advice to embrace and celebrate the season or special occasion with your loved one with dementia.

Maureen provides guidance to recall how past traditions looked, smelled, sounded, tasted and felt and how these can spark recollections and help families create new memories. She says that memories matter and we need to look to the past to create an amazing present reality. She also gives permission to grieve the losses of the past and leans on her experience as a Certified Validation Teacher by providing communications techniques for families to have successful conversations with a person who has dementia. She reminds viewers that we need to listen to our loved ones and respond in their reality as the heart processes feelings while the head processes facts.

“When you come from a place of love, you can’t go wrong. Enjoy special times even in the smallest of ways,” says Sirianni, adding, “Embrace the memories of the past as you create the memories of today.