Before I started my current job, I didn’t know much about Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias, other than I didn’t want to get any of them.

While I still don’t want to “get it,” I’ve since found out that even this isn’t the end of the world. That there is more than just a glimmer of hope for those living with the disease—no matter what stage they’re in. That memory isn’t just about remembering how to put on socks or if your children visited you that day and much more about feelings, emotions, and triggers of sound, touch, taste.

The key is to realize that someone is still in there even if they can’t tell you they are.

As this is World Alzheimer’s Month, check out a few links to learn more about what you can do for someone with dementia:

• A son finds that some memories are stronger than dementia as he watches his father, a resident in a VA nursing home, start visiting the room of another veteran–and discovers the link between them.
• A husband makes the difficult decision to put his wife in a care home, then finds her secret diary detailing her own wishes for care, helping him give her what she wants and needs.
• Watch “Music Matters For People With Alzheimer’s” [YouTube] and discover how music unlocked one man’s memories even as he languished in the end stages of dementia.

Any resources you use? Please post them below.