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SUBSCRIBE AND CLICK THE BELL for more videos about cognitive decline from author Katya De Luisa and her non-profit team. She discusses understanding dementia as an altered state of perception. Mental illness has a stigma and Alzheimer’s inherits that stigma, but Katya challenges us to look past that and consider the disease as an altered state of consciousness and perception. Katya explains that a person who has cognitive decline views the world in a different way; they don't see what “normal” people see. To connect with and care for individuals with dementia, it’s important to understand how they perceive reality. For each person, it’s very personal and dependent upon one’s life experiences, but there are commonalities throughout each stage of cognitive decline. As a species and civilization we tend to judge and label ourselves and each other based on expressed behavior, what we do in life, the roles we play. As a result, we overlook the inner self; the higher consciousness. This is seen often in the relationships we have with those who develop cognitive decline. Katya compares the altered perception of dementia to that of a psychedelic trip; explaining that the impact on cognitive function, sensory perception, focus, and comprehension is not that different. By understanding that the way we perceive a thing is not necessarily the same perception to someone with Alzheimer’s, we develop empathy and improve communication. The Infinite Mind Dementia Project presents in partnership with the Alama Foundation, the Author Interview Series featuring Katya De Luisa. She calls on years of experience working professionally with seniors to author books and courses that focus on empathy, intuition, and art to communicate with those who have dementia. Purchase Katya’s book Journey Through the Infinite Mind on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Through-Infinite-Mind-Spirituality/dp/164438003X Learn more about the Infinite Mind Dementia Project: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/ Follow the Infinite Mind Blog: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/category/katyas-blog/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.infinite.mind.org/ Visit the Alama Foundation: https://www.alamafoundation.org/

SUBSCRIBE AND CLICK THE BELL for more videos about Alzheimer’s from author and mentor Katya De Luisa and her non-profit team. She describes her introduction to the world of eldercare and dementia and discusses using body language, empathy, intuition, and art to communicate. When Katya moved to the United States in 2000, she was hired to develop and guide an art program for the residents of Park Place nursing home facility caring for elder residents; 85% of whom had Alzheimer’s or another form of cognitive decline Before this, she worked in Costa Rica as an advocate for children living and working on the streets. She had no experience working with aging adults, let alone elders with Alzheimer’s. After a fiasco of a first art class with the residents, she quickly realized that this was not going to be an ordinary senior art program. She would have to develop something significant; real; effective. She would have to learn how a “normal, healthy” brain operates in order to understand the operation of a brain with dementia. But Katya took it further. It’s not just the change in brain function impacted by dementia; it’s also the spirit; the soul. She began to learn this by close observation of the residents with cognitive decline. Day and night, unpaid, she would sit with them and hang around the nursing home observing how they move, eat, sleep, and communicate. She digested all of the books and studies she could, but in the end the best teacher was the individuals themselves. Armed with scientific knowledge and acute observation, she used empathy, intuition, and body language to communicate with residents that were thought to be “lost” or “not there”. Again, she took aim and this time presented a senior art class that even those with dementia were able to participate in. The picture-communication technique was introduced as a sort of collage-art activity, but Katya soon discovered it was so much more than an art class. This opened doors to communication that were thought to be locked. This perspective is eye-opening and full of opportunity for self-discovery. Purchase Katya’s book Journey Through the Infinite Mind on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Through-Infinite-Mind-Spirituality/dp/164438003X Learn more about the Infinite Mind Dementia Project: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/ Follow the Infinite Mind Blog: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/category/katyas-blog/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.infinite.mind.org/ Visit the Alama Foundation: https://www.alamafoundation.org/

SUBSCRIBE AND RING THE BELL for more videos about cognitive decline from author Katya DeLuisa and her non-profit team. As dementia progresses, the ability to communicate with others tends to deteriorate.With the picture-communication technique, Katya found that even individuals in late stages of dementia were able to communicate through art; specifically by assembling collages with the assistance of a loved one or caregiver. When Katya introduced the collage activity to the residents of Park Place, her intention was just to conduct an art activity that those with dementia could participate in with a companion. After several sessions, she was thrilled to find even the late-stage residents taking part. But Katya was blown away when she discovered that the residents with dementia weren’t just having a fun art class. They were actually communicating through the pictures and words they selected for their collage. “Oh my gosh, the collages are communication; it’s not just a simple art project!” Backed by a generous grant from the Alzheimer’s Association, Katya spent the next decade introducing and training caregivers, facilities, and loved ones on using the picture-communication technique. Now you can learn more about this technique in Katya’s book: Journey Through the Infinite Mind: The Science and Spirituality of Dementia. Katya’s picture-communication course will be available online soon- stay tuned for more! The Infinite Mind Dementia Project presents in partnership with the Alama Foundation, the Author Interview Series featuring Katya DeLuisa. She calls on years of experience working professionally with seniors to author books and courses that focus on empathy, intuition, and art to communicate with those who have dementia. Purchase Katya’s book Journey Through the Infinite Mind on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Through-Infinite-Mind-Spirituality/dp/164438003X Learn more about the Infinite Mind Dementia Project: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/ Follow the Infinite Mind Blog: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/category/katyas-blog/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.infinite.mind.org/ Visit the Alama Foundation: https://www.alamafoundation.org/

SUBSCRIBE AND RING THE BELL for more videos about Alzheimer’s from dementia educator Katya DeLuisa and her non-profit team. “It's all about emotional connection, especially when you have dementia.” Katya worked with Frank who was in his 18th year of Alzheimer’s; non-verbal, yet she and he had bonded so closely over time. Her relationship with Frank went way beyond professional and she became close with Frank’s wife, too. Katya would go in early to help feed Frank and make sure he was all set for the day. She would advocate for him and keep his wife informed. “He became the one that I just let myself love completely and I think because of loving him it kept my heart open for the rest of them.” She found she could very easily love all of them even without going through all of the intense energy and care she did for Frank. She taught this concept to other burnt out caregivers for several years. Love one; love your favorite one and just for that one come in early. Say goodbye and let them know you’ll be back tomorrow. Through the authentic love of one individual with dementia, your heart remains open and empathetic for them all. The Infinite Mind Dementia Project presents in partnership with the Alama Foundation, the Author Interview Series, featuring Katya DeLuisa. She calls on years of experience working professionally with seniors in care to author books and courses that focus on communication with those who have dementia. Purchase Katya’s book Journey Through the Infinite Mind on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Through-Infinite-Mind-Spirituality/dp/164438003X Learn more about the Infinite Mind Dementia Project: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/ Follow the Infinite Mind Blog: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/category/katyas-blog/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.infinite.mind.org/ Visit the Alama Foundation: https://www.alamafoundation.org/

SUBSCRIBE AND RING THE BELL for more videos about Alzheimer’s from dementia educator Katya De Luisa and her non-profit team. “You can see their brains are just processing those images automatically, because it is the first language; so it was quite powerful.” With dementia using pictures is like tapping the first language; imagery is the first language. Before you learn words, you learn images and pictures. It’s the first language of the brain. Words have to be translated into images in the brain before the brain can interpret what the word means. So the Collage Communication Technique, taught by Katya to caregivers and facilities across the US, turned out to be a quick and simple way to communicate with those who have dementia. It is especially effective with those in later stages of Alzheimer’s as well. It is a very universal language that skips the second step of interpreting words, which eases communication between those with dementia and their caregivers and loved ones. The Infinite Mind Dementia Project presents in partnership with the Alama Foundation, the Author Interview Series, featuring Katya De Luisa. She calls on years of experience working professionally with seniors in care to author books and courses that focus on communication with those who have dementia. Purchase Katya’s book Journey Through the Infinite Mind on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Through-Infinite-Mind-Spirituality/dp/164438003X Learn more about the Infinite Mind Dementia Project: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/ Follow the Infinite Mind Blog: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/category/katyas-blog/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.infinite.mind.org/ Visit the Alama Foundation: https://www.alamafoundation.org/

SUBSCRIBE AND RING THE BELL for more videos about Alzheimer’s from dementia educator Katya De Luisa and her non-profit team. “Frank was in the last stages of Alzheimer’s and I thought, “He can’t possibly be able to read these words…” But they were all words that pertained to him. Katya noticed Frank picking out a lot of words along with images during the collage activity. He was an investment banker and poet which Katya learned by becoming friends with his wife over time. Frank’s wife explained that Frank would keep a rolodex of quotes on his desk at work. “Seen that! Seen that!” Frank would point and say. What Frank meant was that he had seen those quotes and they were indeed in that rolodex on his desk so long ago. Katya soon realized it was not only the words that pertained to Frank and his lifetime, but the images as well were always representative of people, places, and things in his life. Even in these late stages of dementia, Frank was communicating, and Katya was listening. It was this experience with Frank that drove Katya to focus on communicating with those in late stages of Alzheimer’s. The Infinite Mind Dementia Project presents in partnership with the Alama Foundation, the Author Interview Series, featuring Katya De Luisa. She calls on years of experience working professionally with seniors in care to author books and courses that focus on communication with those who have dementia. Purchase Katya’s book Journey Through the Infinite Mind on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Through-Infinite-Mind-Spirituality/dp/164438003X Learn more about the Infinite Mind Dementia Project: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/ Follow the Infinite Mind Blog: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/category/katyas-blog/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.infinite.mind.org/ Visit the Alama Foundation: https://www.alamafoundation.org/

SUBSCRIBE AND RING THE BELL for more videos about Alzheimer’s from dementia educator Katya De Luisa and her non-profit team. "...she had lived 18 years with him, with Alzheimer's and she had put him full-time in a nursing home only in the last year ..." Katya met Frank as a resident at a home for seniors, but he became a dear friend and inspiration. She met him for the first time trying to come down some stairs at the senior care facility where she taught art classes to residents. The next time she met Frank, he was having another moment of panic; yelling for his wife and to know where he was. Katya stopped this panic by bending down to look in his eyes and letting him know she was here to help. She very clearly remembered Frank, and it seemed as if he remembered her, too. He later entered into her art classes and they worked together for a long time. Katya shares her experience being with Frank in his moment of passing; in fact the first time she had been with someone in this moment. Speaking with his wife after Frank’s passing was very impactful. “Is it over?”, she wasn’t just talking about Frank dying, she was talking about living with someone for 18 years with Alzheimer’s…” The Infinite Mind Dementia Project presents in partnership with the Alama Foundation, the Author Interview Series, featuring Katya De Luisa. She calls on years of experience working professionally with seniors in care to author books and courses that focus on communication with those who have dementia. Purchase Katya’s book Journey Through the Infinite Mind on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Through-Infinite-Mind-Spirituality/dp/164438003X Learn more about the Infinite Mind Dementia Project: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/ Follow the Infinite Mind Blog: https://www.theinfinitemind.org/category/katyas-blog/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.infinite.mind.org/ Visit the Alama Foundation: https://www.alamafoundation.org/