Description: It often proves challenging to engage a person who is living in the late stage of dementia. In addition to being the stage in which physical hands-on care and the use of adaptive equipment dominates, establishing ways to reach and communicate with an individual- keeping person connected and relationships meaningful and intact -requires understanding the person’s life story, thinking creatively and awareness that the person is still there. Knowing that part of our brain that governs our emotions is intact until the end guides us to use emotions and feeling tones, presence, and being in the moment with the person. Capitalizing upon the senses and the use of sensorimotor approach because of the losses in the brain can make the connection with the person. We will explore practically based interventions in this session. 

Presenter: Julie Parisi is a residential director at the Northeast Arc. She currently runs a program in Gloucester for aging and end of life care for individuals with ID/DD. Julie became a Dementia Friends MA champion in 2018 and has used her training to provide support to over 28 residential programs at the Northeast Arc. In 2022, Julie became a certified end of life doula and then graduated from North Shore Community College 2024 with her Associates in Developmental Disabilities. Her goal is to provide education on end-of-life care for people with disabilities while focusing on continuation of quality treatment and supporting relationships. Currently, Julie is on the team implementing Positive Behavior Supports at her agency and continues to advocate and train on dementia at the Northeast Arc. 

 Registration Fee (for the 4-part series): 

• $149 | General Public 
• $119 | NTG Dues Paying Members 

Click here to Register