Joining Their Reality: Lisa Skinner on Alzheimer's, Dementia, and Caregiving

When Lisa Skinner was a teenager, she went to visit her grandmother, who began telling her frantic stories about birds living in her mattress and men trying to steal her jewelry. There were no birds, and there were no men, but Lisa would soon find out that her grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease.

That experience shaped the course of Lisa’s life and eventually led her into dementia care, where she’s spent decades helping families better understand what their loved ones are experiencing and how to care for them with compassion and dignity.

In this episode, Lisa shares what she’s learned from both her personal and professional experiences with Alzheimer’s and dementia, including why “joining their reality” can completely change the caregiving experience.

"A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease does not have to equate to this is the end of the person’s life."Hear Lisa talk about:

The moment she first realized her grandmother had Alzheimer’s
The difference between Alzheimer’s disease and the umbrella term dementia
How her experiences with eight family members led her into dementia care
Why traditional caregiving instincts often do not work with dementia patients
What it means to “join their reality” instead of correcting them
How person-centered dementia care can help families live more meaningful lives together

Mentioned in this episode:

Lisa Skinner’s latest book on Alzheimer’s and dementia care
Lisa’s podcast and newsletter resources
Lisa’s television show on dementia care

Support This Show:

Follow Tell Me What It’s Like in your favorite podcast app
Leave a rating & review — it helps others find the show
Share the episode and tag @RaineMediaCo on social media

Mentioned in this episode:

Help Others Discover the Show

Enjoying Tell Me What It’s Like? Leaving a rating and review in your podcast app helps more listeners discover the show. Thanks for supporting thoughtful conversations and perspective-driven storytelling.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(48)

Building Community Wherever You Go: Kandi Hart on What She's Learned as a Military Spouse

In the Season 2 finale, military spouse Kandi Hart joins the show to discuss what she's learned about building community after decades of moves. She and Stacy talk about what it takes to thrive in eve...

24 Jun 47min

Diagnosed with Asperger's at 65: Charles Grimes on Finally Understanding Himself

Charles Grimes has spent nearly 30 years as a business psychologist, helping leaders understand themselves so they could lead others well. But he’s also been trying to understand himself, with therapy...

17 Jun 50min

Coming Back to the Game: A Quad Amputee Soccer Coach on Reclaiming His Confidence

When soccer coach Scott Martin contracted a rare illness that took his hands and parts of his feet, it took the way he coached the game as well as his confidence. What followed was years of depression...

10 Jun 47min

Inside Fertility Medicine: Dr. Yemi Famuyiwa on Birth, Loss, and the Science of Having Babies

Dr. Yemi Famuyiwa knew she wanted to be a doctor long before she knew what kind. It was during her third-year rotations at Emory that the answer became obvious. She'd had “a roaring blast” in her OBGY...

3 Jun 43min

From Blogger to Influencer to Done: Chelsea Coulston on the Creator Economy

In 2012, Chelsea Coulston had just moved to a new house in a new city with a newborn while her husband was deployed. She turned her focus to decorating her new rental home, and turned to the internet ...

27 Mai 43min

The Reality of Reality TV: The Psychologist Who Decides Who Gets on the Show

Have you ever wondered how the people on reality TV get cast? Dr. Steven Stein is a psychologist who's spent twenty years helping make that call. Working behind the scenes of shows like The Amazing Ra...

20 Mai 41min

Finding her Birth Mother at 51: Julie Melanson on Adoption and Identity

Julie Melanson always knew she was adopted, but it wasn’t until she was 51 years old that she decided to search for her birth mother. She eventually found her, built a connection with both her mother ...

6 Mai 55min