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For Immediate Release A COMPLETELY NEW BOOK GENRE STIMULATES COMMUNICATION WITH PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE |
BALTIMORE, MD — Never hearing a parent’s voice again may be the wish of many teenage children, but it is a disturbing reality for the millions of grown children whose parents have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Affecting 4.5 million Americans, this degenerative brain disease progressively unravels a person’s ability to initiate conversation and to retrieve or use words. Communication with caregivers becomes little more than “yes” and “no,” and eventually ceases to exist at all. But now, a powerful new tool for fostering communication with people with memory impairments caused by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias is available. Conceived by author Lydia Burdick, The Sunshine on My Face — A Read-Aloud Book for Memory-Challenged Adults is not only a lifeline to more meaningful communication, but is also the first book in a completely new genre, the Two-Lap Book™. Hailed by Alzheimer’s experts as an innovative new resource, The Sunshine on My Face stimulates conversation, encourages social interaction, and inspires reminiscence. Large enough to fit over two laps, the book contains colorful illustrations and simple text that allows two companions to read and talk about universal adult experiences such as watching children playing in the park or going for a drive in the countryside. Depending on the level of language skills retained by the person with memory impairment, the book can be read out loud by the person or by the caregiver. The text and illustrations are ideal for starting conversations. And for those unsure how to lead a conversation with a person with memory impairment, the book provides helpful prompts. The author wrote The Sunshine on My Face for her mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. “I wanted to give my mother words to say and to give the two of us a happy activity to do together,” Burdick says. Like many people with advancing dementia, her mother had almost completely stopped speaking, responding to questions with only monosyllables. “Reading the book together and hearing her voice was a gift!” the author remembers. After her mother’s death in 2003, Burdick was inspired to share the book and its benefits with other families facing the memory and communication challenges produced by Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and related conditions. “This is a lovely concept and should be a valued resource for caregivers of memory-impaired persons,” says Carl Eisdorfer, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the University of Miami Center on Aging. The book has been embraced by researchers in the field of aging and is currently being introduced into research projects that focus on developing aids for family caregivers and improving communication with people with Alzheimer’s. Projects are based at New York University School of Medicine’s Silberstein Aging & Dementia Research , the Eastern North Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, and Florida State University. # # # About the AuthorWith a master’s degree in Clinical Practices (psychology), Lydia Burdick’s career has been in human resources. Since 1993, she has been a consultant at an international outplacement firm. Her interest in Alzheimer’s disease stems from her mother’s diagnosis in 1998. Interviews with the author can be scheduled by contacting Amy Perkins, Marketing Manager (Phone: 410-337-9585, Fax: 410-337-8539, aperkins@healthpropress.com) About Health Professions Press Founded in 1990, Health Professions Press is a publisher of high-quality educational resources for professionals in the fields of aging, long-term care, and health services administration. An independent company, Health Professions Press is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Please visit www.healthpropress.com for more information. Review copies of The Sunshine on My Face: A Read-Aloud Book for Memory-Challenged Adults are available upon request.
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