Dementia care expert Teepa Snow answers caregiver questions on everything like managing daily needs like bathing, to handling dementia care during a crisis like Hurricane Helene, to deciding between assisted living and aging in place.
Positive Approach to Care founder and dementia care expert Teepa Snow returns to our Live Talks series for another session of “Ask Teepa Anything,” where she fields dementia caregiving questions from the audience in real time, moderated by Being Patient founder Deborah Kan.
Snow, a certified occupational therapist with over 40 years of clinical and academic experience, provides online and in-person education to support those living with neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Here, she tackles questions on everyday caregiver conundrums, to intimacy and relationships, to care in times of crisis (like Hurricane Helene), to art therapy and creativity, to making the call between assisted living and aging in place, and what factors to consider.
A few of the caregiving topics Snow covers in this session of “Ask Teepa Anything”:
• Managing bathing, which can be difficult for people living with dementia because of sensory overload. Snow explains that these sensory issues that come with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia can make activities like showering feel intolerable — and she suggests breaking the task into manageable parts, such as sponge bathing and cleaning key areas like underarms, feet, and private areas. She shares some concrete advice for helping to reduce the distress of bathing — including engaging the person in the task, giving them control where possible, and avoiding overwhelming activities like full-body showers.
• Managing incontinence, a natural part of dementia progression. (In this section, Snow tackles how cognitive decline affects the brain’s ability to manage bladder control — and she offers strategies to manage incontinence as long as possible while transitioning to adult briefs or other approaches.) Later in the conversation, she’ll come back to this topic in the context of the progression of dementia. When a question arises about how long it typically takes before incontinence becomes an issue, she stresses that it depends on not only the type of dementia, but the individual’s personality — and she reminds families to stay alert to sudden incontinence, because that could indicate other medical issues.
• Navigating dementia care during crises like hurricanes. Snow encourages caregivers to try to hang on to a sense of calm, engage the people they’re caring for with dementia-inclusive activities, and try out distraction techniques that can help reduce anxiety.

• What activities are good for someone living with dementia? Snow digs into these recommended activities, from puzzles, to reminiscence tasks, to sensory stimuli — all things that can help stimulate both memory and build confidence, sharing strategies for engaging people in meaningful activities and incorporating tactics to encourage participation — like making the person feel needed, using props, or offering simple tasks like helping in the kitchen. Snow explains how (and why) engaging in physical activities can improve mood, countering the apathy and depression that are so common alongside dementia-related brain changes.
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• How can caregivers encourage creativity and incorporate art therapy into dementia care? Snow shares: What’s neuroplasticity, and how is it that people living with neurodegenerative conditions can still develop new creative abilities? Kan and Snow discuss a couple real-life examples of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s who have developed artistic skills or whose existing artistic inclinations flourished after a dementia diagnosis.
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• Navigating the early stages of a dementia diagnosis, including the emotional overwhelm caregivers might experience.
• Deciding what kind of living environment is right for a person living with dementia — Snow fields a question about the importance of matching care environments to a person’s current abilities (like independent living versus memory care), and she helps the audience consider that some people may struggle to manage the requirements of day-to-day living and could benefit from additional support — even if they appear to be perfectly in control and capable of living independently. Here, Snow covers some practical considerations for people living with dementia as they transition to assisted living or adapt their current home for aging in place. Snow notes here that while staying put, in a familiar environment, can be beneficial, it’s important to also consider the importance of social interaction and make a choice that considers how to avoid social isolation. She covers the safety considerations of weighing aging at home versus assisted living and how to factor individual needs, such as social comfort or risk tolerance, into the caregiver decision-making process.
• Handling disruptive behaviors in assisted living, like roaming or screaming residents, Snow suggests using empathy and redirection techniques, as these behaviors often arise from unmet needs or environmental overstimulation.
• Intimacy and relationships in dementia care. Snow tackles this sometimes awkward topic while getting into the need for human connection, whether through physical touch or companionship — even if it doesn’t involve sexual intimacy. She emphasizes understanding the person’s lifelong relationship habits and adjusting care accordingly.
• The growing challenge of a lack of skilled caregivers. Snow looks at trends across the caregiving industry, and makes suggestions for families as to how to seek innovative solutions, like engaging students or retirees as caregivers. She covers the importance of building community-based support systems that foster a sense of purpose for people living with dementia.