Helping Older Parents Podcast

Dr. K explains the medications that are commonly used for sundowning and agitation in Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

Dr. K talks with audiologist Dr. Cliff Olson about treating hearing loss in dementia, including how to manage evaluation, how to get hearing aids to work when there's cognitive impairment, types of hearing aids that work especially well for this, and much more.

Dr. K explains what caregivers should know about sundowning, including why it happens and how geriatricians recommend responding.

Dr. Kernisan & geriatric care manager Michelle explain options for paying for senior care, including for aging in place, residential facilities, memory care & more.

Geriatrician Dr. Leslie Kernisan and geriatric care manager Linda Fodrini Johnson explain how to get an aging parent to accept help in the home, especially if the parent has memory loss or other thinking problems.

Dr. K and geriatric care manager Linda Fodrini Johnson discuss how to respond to false accusations made by older adults, particularly from those experiencing memory loss or thinking problems.

    In This Episode: Dr. K explains what all family caregivers should know about decision-making capacity, especially if there’s a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia. Plus how incapacity is confirmed to activate a power of attorney. She covers: How to recognize signs of “mental incompetence” 4 decision-making abilities needed for capacity Why capacity is decision-specific...

    In This Episode: Dr. K explains what you can do, if your aging parent has been refusing to see the doctor for their memory or thinking problems. She covers: Why older adults are often reluctant to get medically evaluated for memory loss 5 tactics that families can use to try to persuade the older person How to trigger less fear of the evaluation How to frame the evaluation in a positive way fo...

  In This Episode: People with memory loss often refuse to see a doctor. So how important is it for them to go and get medically evaluated? Dr. K answers this common question in this episode.  She covers: Why aging parents with memory loss often resist evaluation 6 specific benefits of getting evaluated The most common cognitive tests used in the initial evaluation How long it might take to get an...

   In This Episode: What can you do if your aging parent with memory loss refuses to admit to their problems, or is waving off your suggestions that they get help? In this episode, Dr. K explains how to discuss memory loss and other worrisome symptoms with your aging parent. She covers: A simple technique that will quickly improve your conversations A 5-step framework for talking to your parent ab...

  In This Episode: When an older person starts to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, what are the earliest warning signs to look out for? In this episode, Dr. K explains 10 warning signs that often catch her attention. She covers: Why her list isn’t quite the same as that of the Alzheimer’s Association  10 early warning signs she considers especially important What to kno...

  In This Episode: When an aging parent develops memory loss, or other signs that might be early Alzheimer’s disease, how does that affect their ability to manage their self-care tasks, such as Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)? Dr. K explains what types of problems families should anticipate and check for.  She covers: How memory loss affects AD...

    In This Episode: Dr. K explains what are Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs), and why they matter when it comes to helping older adults age in place. She also explains why they are part of diagnosing mild cognitive impairment vs dementia, and their role in certain aspects of eldercare. She covers: 4 ways ADLs and IADLs are used in eldercare Why...

    In This Episode: Dr. K answers a question she is often asked: “What’s the difference between Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and mild cognitive impairment (also known as MCI)?” She covers: What it means to have “cognitive impairment” The definition of “mild cognitive impairment” (MCI) and how it’s diagnosed What is dementia, and the diagnostic criteria for diagnosing dementia The difference bet...

    In This Episode: Dr. K explains several different health conditions that can cause  memory loss in older adults and in aging parents, and why memory loss doesn’t mean a person is developing Alzheimer’s disease. She covers: 10 common causes of memory loss that she checks for, when an aging person is developing short-term memory loss or other signs of thinking problems How identifying the cause...

In This Episode: Dr. K explains why short-term memory loss is not normal in aging, and what to do if your parent has become forgetful. She also explains what types of memory changes ARE normal with aging. Related episode:  002 – 10 Causes of Memory Loss in Aging Parents Related Resources: Related article: 6 Ways that Memory & Thinking Change with Normal Aging (& What to Do About This) Free...