12 Expert-Recommended Products To Help Someone With Dementia

Dementia has touched many of our lives, whether directly or indirectly. You may be involved in the caretaking of a loved one or have been diagnosed yourself.

“Dementia is an irreversible neurodegenerative process leading to debilitating cognitive symptoms,” explained Dr. Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh, medical director of dementia and behavioral neurology at Yale School of Medicine. According to Fesharaki-Zadeh, these symptoms can include memory loss, visual-spatial issues (such as difficulties with driving and navigation) and executive function problems.

In other words, dementia “changes a person’s ability to understand things [and] make sense of the world,” said Zina Paris, the director of clinical services at Alzheimer’s Los Angeles. Dementia is also progressive, meaning that over time, the disease and its symptoms worsen. And there are many different forms of dementia, presenting differently in nearly every person who has it.

While there is currently no cure for dementia, there are a number of preventative practices that can help with progression of the disease, by “building cognitive and affective resilience and possibly prevent[ing] the onset of dementia in the first place,” according to Fesharaki-Zadeh.

Both Fesharaki-Zadeh and Paris emphasized the importance of social connection, too. An important aspect of socialization is the routine it can provide, as well as making folks with dementia feel that their presence is not just wanted, but also useful. “It’s good to have a routine of activities, and everybody wants to feel like they’re needed and useful,” Paris said. “The more that that you can integrate somebody with dementia into the daily activities of life, the better,” Paris added.

In addition, “Planning in advance