Kimberly R. Kelly, founder and director of Project Far From Home (an Alzheimer's education program designed for law enforcement and emergency services personnel), is the talking-head host for this no-frills two-part lecture presenting a general overview of Alzheimer's disease followed by specific suggestions on dealing with the issue of wandering, common to sufferers of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Despite the “plain talk” of the title, Kelly opens with a fairly technical description of what happens to the brain of a person with Alzheimer's—down to the synaptic level—spoken at a rather fast pace. After this opening scientific barrage, however, Kelly presents statistics regarding the prevalence of Alzheimer's (one in eight over the age of 65), followed by an explanation of the “A” triad—agnosia, aphasia, and apraxia—which impair visual information processing, language abilities, and motor skills, respectively. Kelly next looks at a handful of other traits often related to the illness, including sundowning (increasing confusion in the evening hours), layering (incorrect dressing, such as putting socks over shoes), and wandering. In the second part of the program, Kelly talks more about the fact that persons with Alzheimer's can wander—usually motivated by food, fear, frustration, or pain—and become lost, suggesting helpful tips for wander-proofing a home (included wallpapering a door to look like part of the wall) and making sure that family caregivers have a good recent photo on hand and a knowledge of their loved one's history and experience (which might offer clues to their whereabouts). Although not as comprehensive as the seven-hour The Savvy Caregiver (VL-11/08), Plain Talk About Alzheimer's Disease does present a solid overview of this devastating illness, zeroing in on the classic symptoms while also featuring a handful of solid suggestions for caregivers. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)
Plain Talk About Alzheimer's Disease
(2008) 61 min. DVD: $24.99. The Truro Group (dist. by Vision Video). Volume 24, Issue 2
Plain Talk About Alzheimer's Disease
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.