116 – Interview: Dr. K’s New Book: When Your Aging Parent Needs Help

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks to fellow geriatrician Dr. Nicole Didyk about her new book: When Your Aging Parent Needs Help: A geriatrician’s guide to memory loss, safety worries, resistance, and more. Dr. Didyk is the founder of the blog and YouTube channel The Wrinkle.

They discuss:

• What led Dr. K to create this step-by-step guide for children of aging parents
• Why the book is set up in four sections: taking stock, taking aim, taking action, plus taking the long view
• How to communicate with your aging parent attentively and respectfully
• How dementia and other memory or thinking issues often play a key role in an older adult’s resistance to change
• Why she included practical “real-life” examples and printable downloadable “cheatsheets” that readers can reference
• The A-B-C-D-E framework for taking action to help an aging parent
• Why adult children often need to check themselves and accept their parents’ choices

Related episode:

028 – When Older Parents Resist Help: 4 Tips for Better Talks

Related Resources:

• More information on the book: When Your Aging Parent Needs Help
• 9 Types of Issues to Address When Helping Older Parents