Sentient Care™

An Alzheimer’s Surprise Party: Unveiling the Mystery, Inner Experience, and Gifts of Dementia ~ NEW BOOK

ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
ANNOUNCING OUR NEW EDITION

In An Alzheimer’s Surprise Party researchers Tom Richards and Stan Tomandl propose that people with Alzheimer’s dementia are not spiraling downward into “mindless pathology” as commonly believed, but are human beings in deep inner states of consciousness, parallel realities, that may reveal important and meaningful experiences for them, their families, and for society.
By applying new sentient communication skills and meticulously documenting their twenty …

Interview with Tom Richards, co-author of An Alzheimer’s Surprise Party

Question:  Alzheimer’s disease is devastating for individuals, caregivers, and families. What message does your research have for these folks?
“Our research explores the mystery, and dispels the stigma, of Alzheimer’s dementia by revealing its potential for meaningful communication, intimate relationship, and spiritual healing. We offer hope and meaning in the midst of one of life’s scariest and most difficult processes.”
Question:   How do you do that? How do you work with …

An Alzheimer’s Surprise Party Prequel ~ New Volume II ~ Focusing on the Early and Intermediate Stages

ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
ANNOUNCING OUR NEW SECOND VOLUME
This second volume,  “AN ALZHEIMER’S SURPRISE PARTY PREQUEL”, helps families and professional caregivers hone acute observation skills which aid compassionate awareness of patients’ inner experience of dementia. Researchers Tom Richards and Stan Tomandl present a profound example of an Alzheimer’s patient working on himself psychologically, and communicating in meaningful ways with family and friends. They demonstrate outcomes that include psychological, soulful, and spiritual …

From our readers of “An Alzheimer’s Surprise Party”

“I bought one copy of your book and am so impressed that I am now buying ten copies so that I may have copies available to family members of persons with dementia, and am also going to give copies to the geriatric psych unit, of which I am the medical director, and to the two long term care facilities, of which I am the medical director. Thank you for writing such …

Body Symptoms from Illness or Injury to Memory Loss

Sentient CareTM explores the messages, the dreaming, and the meaning contained in body symptoms including forgetfulness, short term memory loss, Alzheimer’s, dementia, stroke, aging; and physical body symptoms from illness to injury. All body symptoms contain messages about our lives that are trying to reach awareness. Until these messages are received and acted on, they will continue to be sent, intensify and possibly change forms to try to get through. …

Rehabilitation after massive stroke and surgery

A fifty-nine year old scientist collapses at a professional conference, and is flown out by medivac helicopter for emergency brain surgery to relieve a massive stroke.
One year later his residual symptoms include shortterm memory loss, left visual field deficit, and word confusion.
After months of occupational and speech rehabilitation therapy with little progress, his residual symptoms persist, and he is declared unfit to ever fill his former position, or …

Coma Work and Palliative Care

Coma Work and Palliative Care is an introductory communication skills manual for people living in delirium, dementia, coma, and end of life processes.
This is a definitive resource for communication techniques and care etiquette in these difficult and sacred situations.
Remote, minimally responsive states of consciousness do not equate with lack of sensitivity. On the contrary, people in these very far out remote states of altered consciousness can be very delicate and …

Coma and Remote State Directive

The COMA AND REMOTE STATE DIRECTIVE is a legal document; an advance directive, also known as a living will. The intention of this document is to implement your wishes if you are ever concerned with communication and decision making durIng confusion, delirium, stupor, coma, vegetative state, depression, catatonia, dementia, and other remote states of altered consciousness.
This document helps ensure that you receive verbal and nonverbal support for your awareness of …

Early Stage Alzheimer’s

AN ALZHEIMER’S SELF PORTRAIT

This “picture of Alzheimer’s” was drawn by a 76 year old woman in her third year of early stage Alzheimer’s, who was still capable of living in an independent living facility.
Her “self” portrait depicts her personal experience of Alzheimer’s as “outside float” and “floating around” like “Casper, the friendly ghost.”
Six months after Sentient Care work with her and her family, which included this sketching exercise, her daughter …

Alzheimer’s & Dementia Inner Experience

There exists a complex spiritual growth process in the background of Alzheimer’s, dementias, and other states of altered consciousness. Knowledge and awareness of this process offers hope and relief to patients, family members and care givers alike. Sentient Care explores the messages and meaning contained in these processes. These messages trying to reach awareness are both personal to the identified patient and universal for the family and community. Until the …