Advice From Your Advocates
Advice From Your Advocates
Unlocking Better Care for Dementia: Tips from a Speech Pathologist
In this episode of the Advice From Your Advocates podcast, host Attorney Bob Mannor has a conversation with Morgan Donoghue, a speech pathologist specializing in neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's. Together, they discuss the critical role of a speech pathologist in managing communication, and swallowing difficulties, the importance of caregiver education and support, and practical tips for communicating with individuals with dementia. Morgan also introduces her business, Memorable Minds, and shares valuable resources from her website and Instagram page to help caregivers navigate the challenges of dementia care.
Episode Takeaways:
- Caregivers often lack education on dementia.
- Maintaining communication is crucial for quality of life.
- Nonverbal communication plays a significant role.
- It's important to validate feelings rather than correct them.
- Activities should reflect the person's interests pre-diagnosis.
- Social media can provide support and community for caregivers.
- Caregivers should not feel guilty for what they don't know.
- Nutrition is vital; consider appealing food options.
- Body language can influence interactions significantly.
- Finding the right communication strategy is essential for each individual.
Morgan's website: https://www.memorablemindsconsulting.com
Learn more about Mannor Law Group: www.mannorlawgroup.com
Host: Elder Law Attorney Bob Mannor
Executive Producer: Savannah Meksto
Assistant Producer: Samantha Noah
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ABOUT US:
Mannor Law Group helps clients in all matters of estate planning and elder law including special needs planning, veterans’ benefits, Medicaid planning, estate administration, and more. We offer guidance through all stages of life.
We also help families dealing with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other illnesses that cause memory loss. We take a comprehensive, holistic approach, called Life Care Planning. LEARN MORE...
You're listening to Advice from your Advocates, a show where we provide elder law advice to professionals who work with the elderly and their families.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Welcome back to Advice from your Advocates. I'm Bob Mannor. I'm a certified elder law attorney here in Michigan and I'm really excited about the guest today, who is a speech pathologist that works primarily with those with neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's and things like that. So, morgan, welcome.
Morgan Donoghue:Hi there. Thank you so much for having me today.
Attorney Bob Mannor:So this is a really interesting topic. Why don't you first, if we can start off by if you can just tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into this field?
Morgan Donoghue:Sure, so my name name is Morgan and I am a speech language pathologist. I do still work full time. So I'm currently working in the home health setting, where I go into people's homes and I also go into memory cares and assisted livings to treat my patients. But on the side, I started a business called Memorable Minds where I help caregivers navigate the complexities of dementia. One thing I found while I was treating during my full-time job is that caregivers had not a lot of education on dementia, so a lot of my sessions were providing caregiver education and that is kind of how memorable minds formed. Where I wanted to reach a larger audience, I realized there was a bigger need for this.
Attorney Bob Mannor:That's great and you know it's absolutely true and it's understandable because when you think about it you know if this is your loved one, your spouse, your parent, it comes with a lifetime, right, it comes with a lifetime of history, and sometimes those relationships were, you know, really great and sometimes they were strained a little bit, and so there's a tendency it's almost a human nature, to ascribe the behaviors to just the relationship, behaviors to just the relationship.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Oh, that's just my husband being stubborn, or, you know, that's just dad in the way he is, when it really is significantly different once there's this neurodegenerative disease and so one of the things. So it's, I think it's really great that you're working with the families and I think that that's a real. There's a vacuum there that needs to be filled, because I think a lot of families we had one guest recently that was talking about how many families kind of cocoon. They get that diagnosis of dementia. Now they cocoon and they just say, okay, we're just going to make sure dad never leaves the house again, which is the worst. You know, that's terrible. And so the education for the family and really helping them understand how how they can navigate this, I think that's just a fantastic goal and calling yeah, and absolutely I mean.
Morgan Donoghue:the point that you just brought up is that family might not have been told about local resources in their area where there are these programs, memory cafes in their area where there are these programs memory cafes different outings for other people who are living with dementia and caregivers where they could go and communicate with them and build a local support group for themselves. So it's a shame that people aren't receiving those education and that those resources that are local to them.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Well, and I appreciate the efforts that you're making in that regard. So the first question I have for you you're probably going to laugh about a little bit, but you know so. I remember when I met my wife and she's an occupational therapist and I had no idea this was. You know, I was in my 20s, I had no idea what an occupational therapist was and so, you know, in my family, once I introduced her, they could not get it through her head what an occupational therapist was. I think my brother said oh so you just help people get jobs, and so occupational therapist? I think people have the same kind of confusion about a speech pathologist, so can just educate us. What does a speech pathologist?
Morgan Donoghue:do Well, of course. So our thing that we always hear is but I know how to speak, so people always say that to us. But what a speech therapist does and what we specialize in is we specialize in treating and assessing communication, speech, language, cognition and swallowing, which, if you think about dementia, it pretty much touches every aspect of what we specialize in of what we specialize in.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Yeah, that's absolutely true. And so one of the things that I think it's probably neglected sometimes by the families and perhaps even people in the healthcare industry because, if you know, one of the things when we're talking about dementia is let's make these years as positive as possible. You know, it's not going to be great, because this is a terrible disease, but we can make it better. Not great, but better Meaning communication of all things is one of those things that probably and swallowing things like that but communication, in particular for the family, that's probably one of the most important things to maintain some quality of life. And so your services are just so important and I think the family's just it's not intuitive, it's not something that they immediately go to to say, if we can preserve communication for longer, that's going to provide not only the person with memory issues a better quality of life, but the family surrounding them a better quality of life.
Morgan Donoghue:Absolutely, and that is our goal too. It's to provide them with a better quality of life. Are we able to communicate in two-step directions with them? Sometimes we're not able to, and we need to simplify it down to one step at a time. When I say that to you, you might be like, oh yeah, I knew that. But when you're in the moment of talking to your loved one, who you've talked to your whole life, it is not familiar to change the way that you've been speaking to them. So a lot of times it's a learning curve and we have to change our habits. So that's sometimes a hard part too, of learning how to communicate in a more effective way with our loved ones.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Yeah so and I know that, just to make sure we say this right off the bat and we'll get back to it later that you've got memorablemindsconsultingcom, which is a great resource to go to go to. But my question for you about Memorable Minds is how did you get into that? How'd that come about where you you know you started this website and started this consulting. Tell us a little bit more about that process.
Morgan Donoghue:Yeah.
Morgan Donoghue:So, like I said, my drive for dementia started when more of when I started my home health journey and job and I was educating so much on dementia and I knew that I just wanted to reach a bigger audience and I found one to two other speech therapists doing it and I was like I can do this.
Morgan Donoghue:I was like this is something that I am extremely passionate about. And then I almost didn't do it because I was like there's one to two other people doing that, but you don't hear other people in other professions lawyers, therapists not doing those things because, oh, there's already one doing it. So finally decided to go for it and I went all in and it is the best thing I've ever done. I used to go to my day job speech therapy and I would come home and just live my life. And now I come home and I am constantly researching dementia, constantly trying to find different strategies, resources that I don't know about, just really pushing myself further to be more knowledgeable in the area, and I have built an amazing community online. Who never would have met these other caregivers, health care providers had I not started this.
Morgan Donoghue:And it's been an amazing journey so far.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Yeah, that's one of the things I like about doing this podcast. I've met some really incredible people throughout the country and throughout the world that have the same, you know, passion to help people, especially help people with you know, memory diseases and dementia, and just some really fascinating stories and interesting stories, and it's something I probably wouldn't have. That opportunity I've had lots of opportunities to teach other lawyers and work within my local community, but just hearing the different folks that I get to work with and talk to and really expanding our resources and I imagine that's a lot of what you're doing too, you really by growing your network you're doing too. You really by growing your network, you're really growing your resources that you can share with your families.
Morgan Donoghue:Yeah, yes, and I've learned about so many that I didn't know before, so now I'm able to better help my clients that I see on a full-time basis for speech therapy too. So it's a win-win on both sides.
Attorney Bob Mannor:So tell us a little bit. I know two of the main things that are sort of the more popular things that you do are your website, memorablemindsconsultingcom, and then you have a big Instagram following. Tell us about your Instagram page.
Morgan Donoghue:Yeah. So I try to post on Instagram almost every single day. Some of it is education, Some of it is tips and tricks, Some of it is humor or just relatability for the caregivers. I want my Instagram to be a spot where they can say they feel comfortable in it, they can interact with me, and I want them to know that my messages are always open. I have caregivers frequently messaging me like oh, I related to that post today. Do you have any advice for X, Y, Z? And I try to. If there's a trend going on, I try to see if there's a way that I can fit it into dementia and then add a little bit of education into it as well, Because most people you know, with social media we're getting into the way of let me watch a quick video on it and that's kind of where we're heading towards sometimes with learning. So I try to lean into that a little bit.
Attorney Bob Mannor:And that's great and I really do think, you know, I think that it's an easy way to get new ideas or new thought processes in short segments, and I really, you know, it seems like that's the way of things are trending, but it's also probably always been that way a little bit, to the extent that, you know, most people aren't going to read a 90 page research letter, but the if they can get a concept that's going to help them interact or even just make them feel a little bit better about their situation, to say they're not alone and that they you know other peoples have experienced this with their loved one I think that can make a big difference in people's lives.
Morgan Donoghue:Absolutely, and I want my Instagram to be a space where maybe they connect with other caregivers in the comments my mom is doing that too and then let them connect to be a space where maybe they connect with other caregivers in the comments my mom is doing that too and then let them connect to each other too. Yeah, being a caregiver, I want you to know that you are not alone. There's other caregivers out there, and so I encourage caregivers to reach out to others to see what have a shoulder to lean on, because you're not alone.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Yeah, excellent. So talk us through how people should interact or would likely interact with your website. So anybody that's. We're not near done with our conversation, but I want to get to your website to the extent of you know if somebody is already their interest is piqued, they'd like to learn more. They'd like to learn some of your tips and advice on. You know if somebody is already their interest is piqued, they'd like to learn more. They'd like to learn some of your tips and advice on. You know helping with their family member. What is interacting with your website look like and what would you have any you know, help for somebody that's going to your website for the first time.
Morgan Donoghue:Yeah, so my website is memorablemindsconsultingcom and on there I just recently started a blog, so I'm trying to post more longer form content on there for if people want to be reading more information instead of on Instagram, where it's the short form content, and then the other thing that they can do is either book a free 15-minute discovery call with me to see if we're a good match and to see how I can help them in their situation, and then that can lead into booking our one-on-one consultations, which are one hour long and it's all virtual, so I see people across the US.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Yeah, I was going to ask you that, so I want to get into some of the more substantive tips and things like that in a second. But since we're talking about this, I did want to highlight that that it doesn't matter where. They don't have to. You're currently calling in from Cincinnati, Ohio, I believe. Is that right?
Morgan Donoghue:Yeah.
Attorney Bob Mannor:It doesn't matter, they don't have to be in Ohio or in the Cincinnati area, they can be anywhere in the United States and you'd be able to interact with them and assist with this process, and you'd be able to interact with them and assist with this process. So let's talk a little, let's get into some of the substance of what you do and how you help folks, and so, you know, one of the ways, I think, is just to kind of talk about some of the tips or give some examples or some case studies. You know, tell us a little bit more things that might be, you know, provide value to some of our listeners of how just things that can help the caregivers, help the person with dementia.
Morgan Donoghue:Yeah, sure. So I think, in broad terms, one of the main things that I will always ask my caregivers or make sure that we know is things that they enjoyed or habits that they had before the diagnosis. That's going to be really important post-diagnosis. Just because they have the diagnosis doesn't mean they've changed as a person. So I love to follow their similar routines, their similar interests. So, for example, if you go to the doctor, they might just tell you to give them some more puzzles.
Morgan Donoghue:Well, that's not really the best piece of advice for somebody who's hated puzzles their entire life. So for somebody who's enjoyed baking, they might not be able to bake a whole cake by themselves anymore, but they can definitely help with different pieces of baking a cake. But they can definitely help with us like different pieces of baking a cake. So I love to get my caregivers involved in thinking about what did they do before their diagnosis and let's continue that post-diagnosis. Let's keep their interests in mind and their hobbies, routines, foods they liked let's try to keep all of those and keep it how it was. Just because they received a diagnosis doesn't mean everything has to change.
Attorney Bob Mannor:One of the favorite couples that we've worked with. The husband was blind and the wife had memory issues and so, but you know, we often see this and we we lovingly say this is not intended to be condescending at all but we lovingly say two halves make a whole. Both of them had deficits but together they were getting by and of course, from a legal standpoint that's great. We need to plan for when that you know, when we turn the page on that. So when we have that two halves make a whole and they're doing fine, that's the time to plan for the next step. But in this particular case, to follow through on what you were saying, they used to love to bake together and they make cookies and uh, so he was blind, he couldn't, uh, he couldn't uh see how much he was pouring in or measuring things. So she would help them measure it. He would, you know, he would be the one sort of directing the, the baking of the cookies. But she would help, you know, she would measure everything. She would be his eyes and she, he would be, you know, the person that was able to kind of put all of it together and it was very sweet and they, you know, and it worked really well, you know, for the time that they were able to do that, and I think those are the types of things Another example of that that we see often.
Attorney Bob Mannor:So we have a number of clients that in their working they were either a supervisor or in the medical field, and so then when we get into a setting with others whether it be a senior center or a daycare or a respite or any, or even a live-in, you know, caregiving situation they seem to want to take that role and they're getting up to go to work every day and they're helping out everybody else and they're helping with getting people around, because they feel like they're going to their job, because that's what they knew and that's what they loved was helping other people. And so we see that time and time again, somebody who was a manager or supervisor they're there kind of directing people. Somebody who was in the medical field they're there helping people get around and just helping the others, and the family's always calm. I think she thinks she's back at work because she's out there really helping everybody every day. And we go and we say, mom, you can just sit with us.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Oh no, no, I've got to help Daisy. She's over there and she needs to get down to the lunchroom, and I just love that because, like you say, it's not always puzzles for everybody, it's not the same thing for everybody. It's what they still have a passion for, that they can still have some interaction with, even if it's not at the same level that it used to be.
Morgan Donoghue:Yeah, exactly, we want to improve and maintain quality of life, so finding those activities that give them purpose into their day and meaning into their day can go really go a long way for somebody, and it's a win-win relationship when the person living with dementia is doing well. That also helps the caregivers and decreases their risk of burnout, because that's not what we want either. So hopefully, with education, finding all these resources, getting to know their loved one, and activities, routines and everything that they were involved in, that's the goal. The goal is to not have our caregivers have burnout.
Attorney Bob Mannor:How about some tips related to communication? So I know this is one of the things that we worry about and that you know there could and likely could, you know very well come to a point where communication is very difficult, but to try to if we. I think what you're telling us is that there are ways that we can communicate, to allow for communication longer and really have that better quality of life both for the caregiver and for the person needing care. So what about some tips on communicating with somebody with dementia and then not just today, but sort of kind of setting it up to extend that so that we're able to communicate with them longer?
Morgan Donoghue:Yeah. So one of the first things, even before communication, is our nonverbal communication, so having a positive approach. When you come up to greet them, I just said, hey, how are you today? Versus Hi, how are you today? My pitch went up my tone. I had a smile on my face. I had good body language. Pitch went up my tone, I had a smile on my face, I had good body language.
Morgan Donoghue:Somebody living with dementia is more likely to respond and have a good reaction to them instead if I was not using that. So I think it's really important for caregivers to make sure that we are using our nonverbal communication, which it's our family sometimes. So we kind of push all of those things to the side because, oh, they've known us their whole life. But it's actually something we have to think about. The other thing that is really important is to keep our communication simple. We need to be using one step directions. Sometimes when we use two step directions, it's just information overload for them. Another great communication tip is to avoid phrases like oh, you know who that is, that's your granddaughter, or remember, when those are stressful for somebody living with dementia. So we need to kind of avoid those. So we need to not rely on their short-term memory. We can base our conversations around their senses or their long-term memory, things like that.
Attorney Bob Mannor:I know this is done in love and well intentions, but I know a lot of families struggle with, and I don't know if they think that by reminding people or trying to get them to remember, that that's going to somehow help them. You know, we see these movies. I dislike a lot of the depictions of dementia in movies because you know, and sometimes commercials and things like that, that somehow, if we just you know, oh, remember, this is your sister, this is your daughter, remember this and really try to put them under that stressful thing that that's going to somehow snap them out of it. And I'm sure that there is, of course, things like that that are going to be where they can kind of get. You know there's going to be ebbs and flows in their ability to understand their surroundings, but it is, I think, misinterpreted sometimes that we have to go oh no, you know, your husband died, daddy died. Why would you say that to somebody that doesn't remember that their husband died and make them grieve through that again?
Attorney Bob Mannor:And I know that they're doing it in loving and well-intentioned and probably trying to. You know they think, oh well, this is important that we, you know, we help the person understand. And you know they think, oh well, this is important that we, you know, we help the person understand. Well, they're, you know, even now they might understand it and now have to grieve it for another. You know, couple hours, whereas in a couple hours they may ask the same question, and so it's one of those things that I think, you know, this communication is very important, but I think you'll agree with me never argue, you know, never try to correct and argue, because that's just stressful and actually could cause a lot of grief for the person Absolutely and that is something that I educate a lot on is something that we call reality orientation versus validation.
Morgan Donoghue:So somebody in the earlier stages of dementia might be okay with reality orientation, where we are orienting them to where they are right now. If they do well with saying, oh no, you are at this memory facility and they're like, oh yeah, okay, I knew that, and they respond well, then that's an okay strategy for that person. But if you try it the first time and maybe they don't respond well and it's I want to go home, then that's where we can turn to the validation therapy, where we are validating everything that they are feeling. I bet you do miss your home. Why don't you tell me about it?
Morgan Donoghue:It sounds like you have a lot of great memories there, and then we try to shift the conversation to get them off of that topic and then try to get them involved in something else. So that way we are validating their feelings but we're not upsetting them like no, you're not home, you're at this memory care facility, don't you remember? So we're just validating their feelings. Somebody in the earlier stages could benefit from reality orientation. As dementia progresses we might see that validation might be the better strategy to use for somebody.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Yeah, my sisters came up with a great answer for whenever my mom would ask about her mom or ask about her sister, and so their response was always the same. So if she was asking about her mom, they'd say when both of them are deceased for many years. So if she was asking about her mom, they'd say when both of them are deceased for many years. So if she was asking about her mom where's, where's, where's my mom, where's, where's my mom? And they'd say, oh, she's okay, she's with Dan, helen. And if they'd say, well, where's, where's Helen, where's my sister? Oh, she's okay, she's with your mom.
Attorney Bob Mannor:And so, you know, cause they're both deceased, it was a great answer and it did help sort of distract, to go to the next step and not make her, you know, relive that or grieve it or anything like that, and it was really just a settling thing for her. So you know, it was interesting because the people that she would ask about most were the ones that were deceased. So some level she probably knew that they were gone, but because she wasn't asking about her living siblings, which was interesting, and so but you know, it made her feel a little bit better to say, oh, you know, your sister's with your mom, your mom's with your sister, you know things like that, and that's sort of a distraction, but it's also. You know, it was a good way for, at least for my family, to address that kind of questions.
Morgan Donoghue:Exactly, and for each person living with dementia you're going to find different strategies that work for everybody. I could list out 50 different strategies and maybe only one would have worked for your mom. Everybody has. We have to find the technique that works best for them. Every technique and strategy is not going to work for everybody, so we just have to kind of keep being creative and find those techniques that work for everybody. So it sounds like your family found a great response to use when she would ask those questions.
Attorney Bob Mannor:So I don't know, you know what kind of advice that you'd give in this situation. But there are occasionally where some folks with dementia and you know sometimes they call it sundowners, but sometimes it's just, you know, the brain trying to figure out everything and there might be some lashing out or some irritation or some anger and a lot of times that is a communication issue, I believe Sometimes it's a body language thing and I'll give you a couple examples in a minute. But what's your advice on if we have somebody in the healthcare, in the long-term care industry? They also often say behaviors, they have behaviors, and so how do we any advice on when we have a loved one that's showing some negative behaviors and how to maybe distract or redirect on that?
Morgan Donoghue:Sure. So a lot of times, when you are seeing these behaviors what people will call it A lot of times it might be a communication breakdown or it might be that their needs are not being met. So they might be in pain, they might be hungry, they might be thirsty, needing to go to the bathroom. Maybe they've gone to the bathroom on themselves and they need to be changed. So my first piece of advice is to approach them with a positive attitude, because a lot of times, if they're showing that anger, agitation, frustration they're not going to want somebody coming up to them in a threatening, in a threatening way. They're not going to respond well to that.
Morgan Donoghue:So if you come up to them, positive all those non-verbal cues that we just talked about smiling, high pitch tone, all of that we need talked about smiling high pitch tone, all of that we need to approach them that way. And then this is another point where we need to validate everything that they are feeling. I'm not going to correct them, I'm not going to argue with them. I'm going to be the one in the wrong. I am so sorry you feel that way.
Morgan Donoghue:Let me help you figure this out, and then I'm going to do everything I can to try to figure it out In the best way. I'm going to try to redirect them into something that I know that my loved one enjoys doing. Maybe that's going for a walk, Maybe that is letting them fold laundry, maybe they do need to go to the bathroom. So I'll try to guide them into the bathroom to see if that's where they need to go. It is kind of that trial and error. What do they need? What need is not being met right now. So once we figure out that need, we need to try to take advantage of that and solve it.
Attorney Bob Mannor:That's great advice and great information. I want to give the listeners an example of something that we had in our office. So we had a husband and wife come in and they had called us on their way over, but they had been at their gerontologist and the gerontologist said go over and go to Manor Law, see what they can do to help you with. You know, because they were still at home and he was a large man and he had Lewy body dementia, which sometimes with Lewy body, we see, you know, we have hallucinations and there can be. You know, it can be a dangerous thing. And he was a very large man and she was a small woman and she was fearful. And so he said before you go home, go over to the law office.
Attorney Bob Mannor:And so, fortunately, we were able to meet with him in such a short notice. And so I was, you know, sort of huddling with the wife to gather information, and I had one of my social workers sitting with the husband and this is an example of what you're talking about with regard to the body language. And it took us. We didn't realize what was happening at the time, but now, looking back on it, we know exactly what was happening. So I was talking to the wife, Our social worker was trying to keep the husband sort of distracted so that I could talk to the wife, and so she was talking in low voice, low tones, and so then he would respond in low tones because body language, you know, responsiveness.
Attorney Bob Mannor:And when he would speak quietly, she would lean in because that's, you know, that's kind of normal behavior, but that's not how his brain interpreted it. His brain interpreted it as oh, I guess it's time to go. She's leaning in to get out of her seat. So he would get up and tower over her and she was afraid.
Attorney Bob Mannor:He was a large man, very tall and strong, and we thought he was being aggressive. And we realized afterwards he was as gentle as could be. He was not being aggressive. He was responding to her body language. Her body language was her getting out of her seat a little bit, and so that was a cue to him oh, it's time to get up. So he got up and he was such a big man he was towering over. It seemed like he was being aggressive, when all he was doing was responding to the body language that she had given. That's one of those things that, you know, at the time we were all a little nervous about the situation and we looked back on it afterwards and like, oh, he wasn't being aggressive, he was. That's where body language comes into this whole picture of communication. You know, especially with dementia, probably body language might be one of the most important forms of communication.
Morgan Donoghue:Our body language is everything. So, to kind of piggyback off of an example, think about when we are trying to assist with a shower for somebody with dementia and let's say they're sitting in a shower chair and I have one of those handheld things and I am standing over you just soaking you with water. That is very intimidating and frightening. So our body language in the shower absolutely matters. Maybe we, while they're sitting, we need to be at eye level with them so we are not hovering over them and seeming like a threat While we are showering. Maybe we start at their feet and we are starting down there, making sure they're comfortable. They know exactly what we're doing. They can see me at all times. I'm not in a threatening stance and then we gradually go up the body to make them feel comfortable and not like we are a threat. So body language absolutely matters.
Attorney Bob Mannor:So the next question I have for you is you know, occasionally or frequently, with some forms of dementia, eating can be an issue as to whether or not the you know, and so there could be a variety of eating issues. And do you have any tips for somebody where their loved one with dementia they're struggling, family members struggling with making sure that the person's well-nourished or is receiving enough fluids, and things like that?
Morgan Donoghue:Sure. My first tip is that if you are seeing your loved one is having troubles chewing, swallowing, coughing when they are eating or drinking, I would ask their primary care physician to see a speech language pathologist so that they can fully evaluate their swallow function to see what's going on. But outside of that, I would get a dietician involved if they are malnourished. That's something that a lot of people don't think to get on their care team and it can actually be really important for them if they are not getting enough calories, which sometimes that happens. One of the biggest tips or tricks that I give to some of my patients and my families and people living with dementia love sweets.
Morgan Donoghue:It's been one of the last taste buds to go, so let's use that to our advantage. So let's say, in the morning let's have a smoothie. We can call it a milkshake if we want. That sounds way more appetizing than a smoothie. But we can pack that all bunch of nutrition in there without them even knowing that it's in there. Pack it with vegetables, you can pack it with the Greek yogurt, with protein, you can pack it with all these different nutrients. So for the malnourished side, we want to make sure that they are getting the calories when they are eating.
Attorney Bob Mannor:We need to make sure we are packing it with the calories that they need. Yeah, that's great advice. I really like the advice. Well, it's been very great talking to you, morgan Donahue, and you can find her at memorablemindsconsultingcom and on Instagram at memorableminds. Any other last minute tips or things that you want to leave our audience with?
Morgan Donoghue:is. I just want caregivers to know that they are doing an amazing job. You can't, I don't want them to beat themselves up of something they didn't know, Like if I said a tip today like, oh my gosh, I've not. I've been doing that. I feel horrible. I don't want that to be the reaction. I want it to be that, oh, I learned something new and now I'm going to start doing that. Because you can't beat yourself up on something that you were never taught, and they should have been taught at diagnosis. Unfortunately, they might not have been.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Yeah, that's an excellent tip. That's a pretty important one too, that the fact that the caregiver is giving up their blood, sweat and tears to take care of somebody. We certainly don't want them to feel bad about anything, and it's all a learning process for everybody, right? And so yeah, it's going to be. You know what was it? I think it was Angelou said something like you know, when you know better, do better. So Exactly.
Morgan Donoghue:And you can't do better before you knew about it Exactly.
Attorney Bob Mannor:Thank you so much, morgan. This is great information. I appreciate you coming on. If you enjoyed this podcast of Advice from your Advocates, you can find it anywhere you listen to your podcast or you can go to ManorLawGroupcom and you can find it there. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time.
