New to the Group(8)

JFINE

Good morning!  I am new to the group and signed to more help my parents.  Father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's earlier this year and progressing.  The changes, challenges, and situation has not been an easy one for my mother and the day-to-day.  Does anyone have any recommendations for local support groups, ideas for family members support systems, or suggestions for family members of diagnosed individuals, etc?

Appreciate any and all feedback and ideas.  

aperros23

For support groups, these forums are a great place to both share experiences and learn with others in order to best prepare yourself and your family for the future. I would recommend searching the message boards that relate to symptoms your father may be experiencing and see what others have to say about it. For example, my grandmother would search for things in places that they would never be (ex: looking for the refrigerator in the bathroom). 

The best advice I could give is appreciate every second with your loved one through every stage of Alzheimer's progression. If there are specific activities or games they are able to recall/retain, create some joyous memories with them and try to enjoy the moment without the chains of Alzheimer's dragging it down. For my grandmother and I, cooking and chess were two things we loved to do together.

My wishes go out to you, your father, and your family.

Ed1937

Ed1937

Look at the screenshot above. Click on the local resources at the top of the page, then click on the first box. You can enter your zipcode to get info on local groups. Local groups are excellent for finding information that is needed locally. Just ask the other attendees. This site, IMO, is better for all around support because you don't have competition for "talking space" during the allotted time period. Anyone can read any of the forums, but you need to sign up in order to post. You can post in any forum you want. This is a tough disease. I'm sorry any of us ever needed the forum, but it's great to have.