Ep. 13: Thinking Differently About Dementia—Practical Advice for Dementia Caregivers with Lizette Cloete
I teach people to speak dementia because it's like learning another language. And if you don't know how to speak dementia, then we inadvertently, as the caregivers around them, are actually making it worse for ourselves.
Welcome to this week’s episode on redefining dementia and what it looks like to be a caregiver of someone with dementia. Michele’s conversation with Lizette Cloete is bound to inform and inspire Gen X’ers who are handling the challenging journey of caring for a loved one with dementia.
Lizette is the owner of Think Different Dementia, where she works with caregivers to transform their caregiving journey with faith-based support. In this conversation, Lizette walks us through the different types of dementia, the characteristics of resilient caregivers, her process for working with caregivers, and advice for caregivers who want to heal their relationship with the person who has dementia.
Lizette’s Bio
Lizette is on a mission to help Christian spouses and adult children of people with dementia navigate their journey by decreasing caregiver stress. Using Biblical principles, evidence-based solutions to dementia caregiving, and addressing caregiver stress through weekly tracking, Think Different Dementia (TDD) shows caregivers how, and where, to decrease their stress, reduce their risk for burnout, and redeem their time.
Lizette believes that dementia coaching is the most effective way to help caregivers decrease their stress by anticipating and managing the inevitable dementia related changes. She knows that time is the one resource that cannot be regained, and she helps families redeem their time.
As a pastor’s wife, Lizette is uniquely qualified to answer dementia caregiving challenges from a Biblical Perspective. She has almost 30 years of experience as an Occupational Therapist in a variety of settings, the latest being in the home health environment. Among her many accomplishments, she served on the South Carolina Occupational Therapy Association’s Board of Directors from 2008-2014. She enjoys teaching on the topic of dementia.
Lizette graduated as an Occupational Therapist from the University of Pretoria in South Africa in 1992. She and her husband emigrated to the USA in 1993, and currently reside in South Carolina. They have two daughters and one son-in-love, two cats, one dog and many chickens!
CONNECT WITH LIZETTE
⭐️The Dementia Caregiving for Families Podcast
⭐️Think Differently Dementia Facebook Page
⭐️TikTok
⭐️Email: lizette@thinkdifferentdementia.com
⭐️Website
⭐️Sign Up for Year Long Family Access Coaching Program
⭐️Dementia Caregiving Made Easy Free download
REFERENCES FROM SHOW
⭐️Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, by David C. Pollock and Ruth Van Reken
⭐The Monetary Mixtape Podcast with Will Hoffman and Lizette Cloete (coming soon)
WATCH/LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
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