Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia

...accessible to a general audience, while also serving as useful reference and reminder for students and established dementia professionals... each chapter opens with important background content, and Dr. Sabat's writing flows smoothly and makes the reader feel that they are having a one-on-one conversation with the respected dementia scholar...Students and established practitioners will find this book an important reference resource, whether their background is specific to dementia or more broadly encompasses aging, family care, or medical and social care...many individuals with dementia, family members, practitioners, and the general public will benefit from access to this book. Dr. Sabat is applauded for addressing difficult questions with detailed but easy to follow answers... His use of clinical experience, real-life scenarios, and research citations is a model for future books in this style and addressing these topics. Dementia

Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia: What Everyone Needs to Know® provides information not only about these conditions, but, crucially, about the many psychological and social strengths possessed by people diagnosed. Identifying and using those strengths can improve the quality of life of all concerned in non-pharmacological ways. This book thoroughly informs readers of the clinical history of these conditions, their causes and treatments, and methods of caring for and communicating effectively with those with AD.

Alzheimer's is swiftly on the rise: it is estimated that every 67 seconds, someone develops the disease. For many, the words 'Alzheimer's disease' or 'dementia' immediately denote severe mental loss and, perhaps, madness. Indeed, the vast majority of media coverage of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other types of dementia focuses primarily on the losses experienced by people diagnosed and the terrible burden felt by care partners yearning for a "magic bullet" drug cure.
Providing an accessible, question-and-answer-format primer on what touches so many lives, and yet so few of us understand, Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia: What Everyone Needs to Know® contributes what is urgently missing from public knowledge: unsparing investigation of their causes and manifestations, and focus on the strengths possessed by people diagnosed. Steven R. Sabat mines a large body of research to convey the genetic and biological aspects of Alzheimer's disease, its clinical history, and, most significantly, to reveal the subjective experience of those with Alzheimer's or dementia. By clarifying the terms surrounding dementia and Alzheimer's, which are two distinct conditions, Sabat corrects dangerous misconceptions that plague our understanding of memory dysfunction. People diagnosed with AD retain awareness, thinking ability, and sense of self; crucially, Sabat demonstrates that there are ways to facilitate communication even when the person with AD has great difficulty finding the words he or she wants to use. From years spent exploring and observing the points of view and experiences of people diagnosed, Sabat strives to inform as well as to remind readers of the respect and empathy owed to those diagnosed and living with dementia.
Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia conveys this type of information and more, which, when applied by family and professional caregivers, will help improve the quality of life of those diagnosed as well as of those who provide support and care.

Steven R. Sabat Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Georgetown University is a three-time recipient of the Edward B. Bunn Award for excellence in teaching, and a recipient of the College Dean's Award and College Academic Council Award for excellence in teaching at Georgetown. His research has focused on the remaining cognitive and social strengths, and the subjective experience of people with Alzheimer's disease. He is the author of The Experience of Alzheimer's Disease: Life Through a Tangled Veil (Blackwell Publishers, 2001) and co-editor of Dementia: Mind, Meaning, and the Person (Oxford University Press, 2006).