This third edition of Alzheimer's Early Stages offers the 5 million individuals diagnosed with the disease and their loved ones and caretakers new research findings, new approaches to treatment, and new information on the three key areas of Alzheimer's disease: medical aspects, day-to-day care, and care for the caretaker. Author Daniel Kuhn has been a social worker and educator focused on enhancing the well-being of people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, as well as that of their families, since 1987. Alzheimer's disease has a beginning, not just an end; and as with all beginnings, one must take the first steps before one takes the last. The problems encountered early in the disease and the advice required then are very different from what is needed later in the disease. This book enlightens us about these early stages. Daniel Kuhn seeks to replace fear with knowledge, in the hope that knowledge will lead to empowerment. What does the disease look like and feel like when it first occurs? What types of problems are encountered first by the person with the disease, and by their family and friends? How can these problems be dealt with most effectively? This book is also about reversing the dehumanization that unfortunately is now associated with Alzheimer's disease. Although the disease should be feared and respected, it is not a cause for embarrassment or shame ... This book will serve as a discussion tool to encourage open and frank discussions about mild Alzheimer's disease among patients and family members. In Part One, readers learn about the medical aspects of Alzheimer's through descriptions of diagnosis and the progression of the disease from its earliest origins, and explanations of the current and proposed medical treatments. This section also describes potential non-drug means of treating the disease, such as physical exercise, and speculative treatments, such as coconut oil, that are gaining popularity yet are not

Part I: What Is Alzheimer's Disease? -- Need for an Accurate Diagnosis: What Is Normal and Abnormal in the Brain? -- What About Genetic Testing? -- How Alzheimer's Disease Changes the Brain -- Getting an Accurate Diagnosis -- Value of a Diagnosis -- Disclosing the Diagnosis -- Symptoms of the Early Stages of Alzheimer's Disease: What Is Recent Memory? -- Beginning Signs -- An Emerging Pattern -- Other Troubling Symptoms -- One or More Symptoms Sometimes Present -- Noncognitive or Behavioral Changes -- Take Action -- Treatment and Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease: Current Treatments -- Progress in Treatment -- Participating in Clinical Drug Trials and Other Studies -- Toward Prevention -- Limits of Medicine -- A Good Quality Life: What is a Good Life? -- Relative Well-Being -- Wholeness -- Part II: Giving Care -- What Is It Like to Have Alzheimer's Disease?: Some Common Experiences and Feelings -- Varying Degrees of Awareness of Symptoms -- Importance of Social Environment -- What Do People with AD Really Need? -- What Some Family Members Have to Say -- How Relationships, Roles, and Responsibilities Change: Accepting the Diagnosis -- Stepping into the Leadership Role -- When Your Partner Has AD -- When Your Parent Has AD -- What About Kids? -- Telling Others About the Diagnosis -- Reactions of Others -- Making Practical Decisions: Ensuring Safety on the Road -- Maintaining Good Health -- Other Safety Considerations -- Ensuring Financial Well-Being -- Alternative Living Situations for the Person with AD -- Doing the Right Thing -- Improving Communication: Communication Difficulties -- Redefining Your Relationship -- Ways of Listening to and Talking with a Person with AD -- Whose Problem Is It? -- Helping a Person with Alzheimer's Disease Plan for the Future: Finding the Time -- Legal Considerations -- Financing the Cost of Care -- Rethinking the Living Situation -- Finding the Right Professionals -- Keeping a Person with Alzheimer's Disease Active: Involving Others -- Dealing With Depression -- Selecting Appropriate Activities -- Importance of Everyday Activities -- Intellectual Activities -- Traveling -- Participating in Social Events -- Reminiscing -- Spiritual and Religious Practices -- Helping the Person with AD Maintain Physical Health -- Support Groups -- Activity Programs -- Pets and Plants -- Part III: Caring for Yourself: Self-Renewal for Family and Friends -- Attitude Matters -- Listening to Your Body and Mind -- Importance of Grief -- Individual and Family Counseling -- Exploring Spiritual Resources -- Keeping a Journal -- Maintaining a Sense of Humor -- Obtaining the Help You May Need: Enlisting Help -- Participating in a Support Group -- Using Help at Home -- Choosing an Adult Day Center -- National Family Caregiver Support Program -- Learning More About AD -- Voices of Experience: Questions and Answers -- Lessons Learned -- Epilogue: Advocating for Change: The Politics of Health Care -- Role of Government -- Role of the Private Sector -- AD Research Centers in the United States Funded by the National Institute on Aging -- Print and Video Resources -- Resources on the Web