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Young Adult Daughter of Dad with Dementia

Hi everyone! I'm 22, just came home from graduating college and sadly my Dad was recently diagnosed with Dementia after 2 years of agitation, aggression, and eventually psychosis symptoms. With the help of medication, we are so grateful to now get glimpses of the phenomenal superhero of a man/dad he was for me all my life. He now lives in a long term care facility, and I'm really hoping through this discussion board I could connect with other young adults navigating becoming a caregiver so young.

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  • SDianeL
    SDianeL Member Posts: 934
    500 Care Reactions 250 Likes 500 Comments 100 Insightfuls Reactions
    Member

    welcome to the place for info and support. So sorry about your Dad’s diagnosis. I’m not young but wanted to respond. Learn all you can about the disease by reading books or watching videos. The book “The 36 Hour Day” was recommended by a nurse. Tam Cummings has great videos. Although he’s in a care facility info helps you learn how to communicate with him, not argue, how to handle delusions, hallucinations, Sundowners, etc. At the top of this page is a search bar where you can search for certain terms like young caregiver and you can read old posts. Try different search terms like caring for parent, early onset, etc I would also search online for online support groups for children of parent with dementia. I also would call the Alzheimer’s toll free number to see if they have a virtual support group for children. Hope this helps.

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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