Begin your journey here. Whether you are helping someone else navigate life in the presence of memory problems, or you are working to restore, improve, or maintain your own memory, these fundamental principles have stood the test of time. You may find you need to return here occasionally and “remind” yourself of the theoretical concept that drives the suggestions offered by Kristie.
In this section, we will work through how to evaluate memory and cognition with a focus on functional evaluation. We will then take what you have learned and create a working and adaptable plan of care to ensure that both you and your loved one may enjoy the best quality of life possible as you walk together on this journey.
In part 3 of the Care Manage with Confidence course, you will pull all of the knowledge you have gained from your study of the fundamental principles and the evaluation you completed to develop a plan of care that works for the loved one you serve, for yourself, and is flexible to meet the changing needs.
In this section, we will focus on traditional “brain health” teaching with an added bonus of specific lessons that I learned as I found myself to be in the role of care manager for our 16 year old son suffering severe memory problems for an entire year (2021).
It seems that almost daily, I'm learning of something else that affects health, and ultimately our brain health. In this segment, we're going to open up our minds to all kinds of possibilities. If you are like me, you may have even dismissed some of these in the past. Going back to our initial lesson about Cognitive Reserve and Thresholds, let's look at this section as an opportunity to exercise our brain. As we investigate different things, we may discover some "aha" moments, or we may end up concluding, "I need more evidence." What if we discover that "maybe" this potential assault could contribute to my overall long-term brain health? The next step is to identify actionable tasks. Let's not become overwhelmed, but rather look at each as an opportunity to make minor lifestyle changes. Lots of little changes can add up, reducing the likelihood that we will reach a threshold that results in an observable change in our ability to perform our daily activities and participate in meaningful life.