All programs are live and online. Program times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).
2nd Tuesday each month from 2:30 – 3:30 pm (EST)
Care partners play an important role in caring for the person with Parkinson’s at home and in the community. Our monthly series for care partners is geared towards brainstorming practical ways to best deal with functional issues regarding caring for someone with Parkinson’s. The series will address limitations in gait, transfers, fine-motor, daily living activities, communication & swallowing. Each session will include explanation on the underlying difficulty and practical details on how to manage it.
Scroll down for more information about these topics:
2023
- How can care partners enhance the holiday dining experience for the person with Parkinson’s?
- What was the person with Parkinson’s doing when they fell?
- Falls in Parkinson’s: how can care partners assist after the fall?
- Does dual-task training help walking, balance & motor difficulties in Parkinson’s?
- How can care partners help manage freezing of gait in Parkinson’s? Parts 1&2
- Empowering Care Partners to navigate Parkinson’s COMMUNICATION challenges associated with cognition
- How can care partners better understand posture changes in PD (and what to do about it)?
- How can care partners help the person with Parkinson’s address hand difficulties?
- Why does your loved one with Parkinson’s have trouble sleeping at night? (& how to address it?)
- Exercising together: Benefits, challenges, and choosing exercises that benefit both the person with PD and their care partner.
2022
- At what point do you begin caring for, or helping someone with Parkinson’s?
- Getting your best out of your holiday gatherings with Parkinson’s
- Dealing with challenging daily morning routines
- Dealing with behaviors brought on by hallucinations and delusions
- Managing a Healthcare Crisis
- Helpful tips for care partners for traveling with Parkinson’s
- How can care partners understand the impact of cognition on daily activities in Parkinson’s?
- How can care partners support and motivate exercise habits?
- Swallowing and Mealtime Issues
- Why is sleep such a nightmare in Parkinson’s disease?
- Dealing with changes in voice and communication
- How can we make walking easier in Parkinson’s?
- Dealing with mealtime difficulties, especially during the holidays
How can care partners enhance the holiday dining experience for the person with Parkinson’s?
December 12, 2023
Holidays are a time for special meals and gatherings with loved ones. However, those with Parkinson’s may find it stressful to contend with challenging foods, swallowing, and mealtime difficulties in noisy holiday environments.
Join Parkinson’s specialists Josefa Domingos, Nancy Hillmer, and John Dean for a discussion about addressing comments following complaints during the holidays.
What was the person with Parkinson’s doing when they fell?
Join Josefa Domingos, Nancy Hillmer, and John Dean to explore a key aspect of fall prevention – understanding the circumstances leading up to a fall. In this session, we will delve into the most common activities, situations, and actions that your loved one (or you) were engaged in before experiencing a fall or near-fall incident. Together, we will brainstorm on tips and strategies to mitigate these risks and enhance safety.
Falls in Parkinson’s: how can care partners assist after the fall? Part 2
Join Josefa Domingos, Nancy Hillmer, and John Dean in our Falls series for another session focusing on exploring tips & strategies to help care partners and the person with Parkinson’s when there is a fall – techniques for getting up safely, offering assistance, and identifying potential pitfalls to avoid.
Why do people with Parkinson’s fall, and how can care partners help stop them?
September 12,2023
Dealing with repeated falls is challenging for both the care partner and the person with Parkinson’s. Join Nancy Hillmer and PD specialists John Dean & Josefa Domingos to explore tips, tricks, activities, and assistive tools to reduce the risk of falls in Parkinson’s with a focus on how care partners can help
How can care partners help manage freezing of gait in Parkinson’s? Part 2
July 11, 2023
In the second installment of this 2-part program, Parkinson’s specialists Josefa Domingos, Nancy Hillmer & John Dean build upon educational concepts from the previous lecture to explore practical ways that care partners can identify Freezing of Gait (FOG) triggers and help to better manage FOG through compensatory strategies and other techniques.
Freezing of Gait (FOG) is often described as a feeling of having your feet glued in place. It can occur unexpectedly, even in situations where the movement was previously fluid and effortless. It can arise from a range of triggering factors, and as a result, management has to be multifaceted.
Join us to learn more about some of the best ways to help address Freezing of Gait (FOG).
How can care partners help manage freezing of gait in Parkinson’s? Part 1
June 13, 2023 Pt. 2 will be discussed in July’s program.
Freezing of Gait (FOG) is often described as a feeling of having your feet glued in place. It can occur unexpectedly, even in situations where the movement was previously fluid and effortless. Various factors can trigger FOG, and its management requires a multifaceted approach.
Join Parkinson’s specialists Josefa Domingos, Nancy Hillmer & John Dean to explore ways to help Care Partners understand triggers and management strategies for freezing of gait.
Empowering Care Partners to navigate Parkinson’s COMMUNICATION challenges associated with cognition
Difficulties with communication in Parkinson’s can arise from a range of factors, including cognitive changes affecting language, attention and processing speed. This can be challenging for the care partner and the person with Parkinson’s.
Join Parkinson’s specialists John Dean, Josefa Domingos, & Nancy Hillmer to explore ways to enhance Care Partner understanding the interplay between communication and cognition and explore strategies to manage these issues in different environments.
How can care partners better understand posture changes in PD (and what to do about it)?
Postural disorders (kyphoscoliosis, dystonia, camptocormia, and Pisa syndrome, among others) can be challenging for both the care partner and the person living with Parkinson’s. They often produce added disability, but they may be treatable.
Join Parkinson’s specialists Josefa Domingos, Nancy Hillmer & John Dean to explore management strategies, tricks, assistive tools, and exercises to manage posture in Parkinson’s.
How can care partners help the person with Parkinson’s address hand difficulties?
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Problems performing fine movements, such as tying shoelaces, fastening buttons and snaps, in addition to using cutlery and writing implements, can be challenging if you have Parkinson’s.
Join Nancy Hillmer, along with Parkinson’s specialists John Dean & Josefa Domingos, to explore tips, tricks, activities, exercises, and assistive tools to improve fine motor skills in Parkinson’s.
Sleep in Parkinson’s: Why does your loved one with Parkinson’s have trouble sleeping at night? (and how to address it?)
February 14, 2023
Sleep problems are common in Parkinson’s, impacting daytime sleepiness, fatigue, mood, alertness, and cognition. Join John Dean & Josefa Domingos to understand difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep through the night in PD. How do sleep hygiene, sleep aids and exercise help? How to identify and track common sleep challenges?
Exercising Together: Benefits, challenges, and choosing exercises that benefit both the person with PD and their care partner.
Care partners that maintain good physical and mental well-being are better able to care for their loved ones. But keeping up with a busy schedule of care, along with the additional fatigue and stress, can make finding time to run to the gym an ongoing challenge. What if care partners exercise alongside their loved one with Parkinson’s? What exercises might allow both the person with Parkinson’s and their care partner to benefit from the training in a way that is meaningful to them individually while attacking larger shared goals for managing PD?
2022
At what point do you begin caring for, or helping someone with Parkinson’s?
December 13, 2022
People often ask how they can better care for a loved one with Parkinson’s but deciding when care partners should begin care and how should that care be delivered in different situations can be challenging.
Join Josefa Domingos, John Dean & Nancy Hillmer on reflections on key questions such as whether care starts at diagnosis or only when your loved one’s Parkinson’s start to progress. Or should care begin only when the person is no longer able to provide care for themselves? In addition, there will be a discussion about how Care Partners can help their loved ones and simultaneously give them the space to be independent in different daily activities and throughout the course of PD.
Getting your best out of your holiday gatherings with Parkinson’s
November 8, 2022
Holiday gatherings can sometimes be stressful for all of us, but particularly so for those living with Parkinson’ s. These events require additional cognitive and communication effort, not to mention the added stress of navigating mealtimes in group settings. At the same time, the social connection and memories that these events offer, surrounded by friends and family while eating some of your favorite foods are not easily replaced.
Join Parkinson’s rehab specialists Josefa Domingos, Nancy Hillmer and John Dean for a discussion of strategies, adaptations and adaptive tools that can reduce the stress over the holidays so you can focus on enjoying your time with your friends and family.
Dealing with challenging daily morning routines
October 11, 2022
Waking up and getting out of bed, walking to the bathroom, toileting, showering, getting dressed, washing your teeth, and yes finally sitting down for breakfast. All these routines can be increasingly challenging for people with Parkinson’s requiring more and more support from their loved ones.
Join Parkinson’s rehab specialists Josefa Domingos, Nancy Hillmer and John Dean for a discussion of strategies, environment adaptations and adaptive equipment that can reduce the amount of burden induced with these activities.
Dealing with Behaviors Brought on by Hallucinations and Delusions
September 13, 2022
Has your loved one ever shared that there is someone in the room that’s not really there? Mistake an object for something else e.g., a snake instead of a hose? Or think people are acting against you?
Parkinson’s may have behavioral symptoms brought on by hallucinations (hearing, seeing or smelling things that are not there) and delusions (thinking & believing in things that are false, paranoid, beliefs). Some behavior management strategies can reduce the amount of burden induced with these symptoms.
Join Parkinson’s rehab specialists Josefa Domingos, John Dean and Nancy Hillmer for a discussion about:
• the kind of hallucinations and delusions people with Parkinson’s can potentially have,
• the importance of reporting these symptoms to the healthcare team, and
• management strategies may be helpful to deal with these symptoms.
Managing a Healthcare Crisis
with special guest speaker Heather Suri, BSN RN CMC
August 9, 2022
Helpful Tips for Care Partners for Traveling with Parkinson’s
July 12, 2022
Traveling with Parkinson’s doesn’t have to be stressful. With a little planning and some helpful advice, you and your loved ones can enjoy the holidays with a minimum of complications so you can focus on spending time with your friends and family.
Join Parkinson’s rehab specialists Josefa Domingos, Nancy Hillmer, and John Dean for a discussion about common travel concerns including disruptions in schedules, triggers that can worsen symptoms as well as indications of acute issues and how to ask for special assistance at airlines and other transportation options to maximize your travel experience.
The team will also discuss related topics including getting in shape for travel, avoiding overexertion and excessive sun and steps to take if you are driving.
How can care partners understand the impact of cognition on daily activities in Parkinson’s?
Attention, processing speed, decision, and overall cognitive function can impact how people with Parkinson perform their daily activities.
When performing two or more tasks during transfers, ambulation and other daily activities, people with Parkinson’s might struggle to divide their attention and this may impact their tremor, rigidity, speed, balance, voice, thinking capacity and posture. By understanding how and why this happens, care-partners and people with Parkinson’s can be better equipped to manage this impact.
How can care partners support and motivate exercise habits?
May 10, 2022
Exercise is key in Parkinson’s.
It can help improve endurance, mobility, strength and balance. It may also improve non-motor symptoms such as depression, anxiety, fatigue, as well as cognition (thinking). Yet its most important role is informed by a growing body of research associating exercise to slower progression of the disease.
Care partners also play an important active role in motivating people with Parkinson to exercise and keep motivated.
• What should a care partner know to help their loved ones get started?
• What’s the optimal type of exercise to really get results in Parkinson’s?
• Is the exercise your loved one is doing good enough?
• How do you find time to support their exercise habits?
• How do you help them get -and stay – motivated?
• What if your loved one doesn’t like to exercise?
• Can an exercise be created or adapted for them?
• What’s the minimum they should do to get results?
Join Parkinson’s therapists Josefa Domingos Nancy Hillmer and John Dean for a discussion about common questions people are faced with when thinking critically about exercise in Parkinson’s disease.
Swallowing and Mealtime Issues
Join Parkinson’s therapists Nancy Hillmer, Josefa Domingos and John Dean for a discussion about making mealtimes a little easier with tips & tricks for meal preparation, handling silverware, coping with swallowing issues including drooling and improving communication at the dinner table.
The team will also discuss dining in public and in group environments as well as staying hydrated.
Why is sleep such a nightmare in Parkinson’s disease?
March 8, 2022
Bed mobility is a common challenge in day-to-day activities for people with Parkinson’s and their care partners. Transferring from lying down to sitting on the edge of your bed, turning, getting in and out of bed, and sitting and standing from bed are all examples of bed mobility. Encouraging the person with Parkinson to take an active role with these activities will help maintain the highest level of independence possible while also reducing care partner overload.
Dealing with changes in voice and communication
Join Parkinson’s therapists Nancy Hillmer, Josefa Domingos and John Dean for a discussion about voice and speech changes associated with Parkinson’s and tips for improving communication in both the home and out in the community. The team will also discuss common communication barriers in public and in group environments.
How can we make walking easier in Parkinson’s?
January 11, 2022
Dealing with mealtime difficulties, especially during the holidays
December 14, 2022
We’re sorry, we did not record this program, but we plan to repeat it.