The Dementia Tool All Care Providers Should Have
My wife Rebecca was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease when she was just 53 years old.
I cared for her for nine heartbreaking years until she passed in 2016. My three daughters and I intimately know the challenges of being a caregiver for a loved one in cognitive decline.
The journey we took together inspired me to shift my career to focus on dementia diagnosis and treatment.
Every day, I live to serve individuals, couples, and families affected by Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. And when it comes to dementia outcomes, I just can’t say it enough:
Early Intervention Matters.
Which is why I’m giving you exclusive access to free, downloadable infographics that you can review, print out, laminate, and keep — or share with others at your clinical site.
These valuable resources put the stats, signs, causes, prevention, and treatment of dementia at your fingertips…
They're tools I believe every care provider should have. Here is the first, which highlights the signs of dementia:
I cared for her for nine heartbreaking years until she passed in 2016. My three daughters and I intimately know the challenges of being a caregiver for a loved one in cognitive decline.
The journey we took together inspired me to shift my career to focus on dementia diagnosis and treatment.
Every day, I live to serve individuals, couples, and families affected by Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. And when it comes to dementia outcomes, I just can’t say it enough:
Early Intervention Matters.
Which is why I’m giving you exclusive access to free, downloadable infographics that you can review, print out, laminate, and keep — or share with others at your clinical site.
These valuable resources put the stats, signs, causes, prevention, and treatment of dementia at your fingertips…
They're tools I believe every care provider should have. Here is the first, which highlights the signs of dementia:
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Edward Shaw MD, MA
Edward G. Shaw, MD, MA, is dually trained as a physician and mental health counselor. He was the primary care partner for his late wife, Rebecca, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2007 at age 53 and died in 2016 after a 9-year journey. Ed was a practicing academic radiation oncologist for 23 years, specializing in the treatment of adults and children with brain cancer. In 2010, inspired by Rebecca’s journey, his medical interest shifted to dementia diagnosis and treatment, and with his additional training in mental health counseling, he founded the Memory Counseling Program in 2011, part of the Section on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine and the Sticht Center on Healthy Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The program serves individuals, couples, and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia.
He is the author of four books. Along with coauthors Deborah Barr and Dr. Gary Chapman, he wrote Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade: The 5 Love Languages and the Alzheimer’s Journey, which describes his moving personal story of care for Rebecca coupled with an innovative use of the 5 love languages in dementia counseling. He also wrote The Dementia Care Partner’s Workbook, a support group manual and self-study guide for dementia care partners, providing understanding, education, and hope for the long journey of dementia caregiving from diagnosis through end-of-life. He has also co-authored two resources for support group leaders, A Leader’s Manual for Dementia Care Partner Support Groups and A Support Group for People Living with Dementia: The Leaders Manual.
Dr. Shaw now devotes more time to public speaking, educating, and encouraging seniors, people living with dementia and their care partners, and medical/mental health/other healthcare professionals working in the fields of aging and dementia. He is also a part-time geriatric mental health counselor at New Salem Counseling in Winston-Salem and a PESI speaker for many years, on a variety of topics related to geriatrics and dementia.
He is the author of four books. Along with coauthors Deborah Barr and Dr. Gary Chapman, he wrote Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade: The 5 Love Languages and the Alzheimer’s Journey, which describes his moving personal story of care for Rebecca coupled with an innovative use of the 5 love languages in dementia counseling. He also wrote The Dementia Care Partner’s Workbook, a support group manual and self-study guide for dementia care partners, providing understanding, education, and hope for the long journey of dementia caregiving from diagnosis through end-of-life. He has also co-authored two resources for support group leaders, A Leader’s Manual for Dementia Care Partner Support Groups and A Support Group for People Living with Dementia: The Leaders Manual.
Dr. Shaw now devotes more time to public speaking, educating, and encouraging seniors, people living with dementia and their care partners, and medical/mental health/other healthcare professionals working in the fields of aging and dementia. He is also a part-time geriatric mental health counselor at New Salem Counseling in Winston-Salem and a PESI speaker for many years, on a variety of topics related to geriatrics and dementia.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Edward Shaw has an employment relationship with New Salem Counseling and receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Edward Shaw is a member of American Counseling Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, and the Society for Neuro-Oncology.
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