The Preserved Abilities Method

08/24/2026

One of the things families fear most as dementia progresses is losing the ability to communicate with the person they love.

In this video, I share the story of Cheryl, a woman I worked with for more than five years. Early on, we identified verbal-linguistic ability as one of her strongest preserved abilities, so we continued building around it through conversation, storytelling, reading, and discussion.

Years later, her sons told me that one of the things they are most thankful for is that they are still able to communicate with their mom.

We cannot stop dementia from progressing. But we can pay attention to the abilities that are still there, use them, stimulate them, and build care around them for as long as possible.

Sometimes a preserved ability is more than a strength. Sometimes, it is what helps a family continue reaching the person they love.

08/20/2026

What is a preserved ability in dementia care?

So much of dementia care focuses on what a person can no longer do. But just as important is understanding what is still there.

A preserved ability is a skill, strength, or way of engaging with the world that remains relatively intact despite cognitive decline.

When we identify those abilities, we can use them to improve communication, choose more meaningful activities, support independence, and create better care experiences.

That shift—from focusing only on loss to also identifying strength—is at the heart of the Preserved Abilities Method™.

Watch the video and let me know: Do you think dementia care focuses enough on what people can still do?

08/18/2026

One of the hardest things for a person living with dementia can be moving from one care setting to another.

Home to an adult day program.

Home to the hospital.

Hospital to rehab.

Eventually, perhaps, to assisted living, memory care, or hospice.

Every transition can mean unfamiliar people, routines, expectations, and surroundings.

But what if something important traveled with the person?

Not just their diagnosis.

Not just their medication list.

Not just notes about their “behaviors.”

What if the next care team also knew what abilities were still preserved, how that person communicates best, what kinds of activities engage them, and what type of environment helps them feel most comfortable and successful?

That is one of the reasons I believe identifying preserved abilities can be so valuable.

When we understand what remains, we can use those strengths to shape communication, activities, and the environment — even when the care setting changes.

The setting may change.

The people providing care may change.

But our understanding of the person shouldn’t have to start over every time.

That is what continuity of dementia care should look like.

08/17/2026

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rBE-usV3Uqk

What if we’ve been looking at dementia backwards?Dementia care un...

08/12/2026

Dementia care has seen incredible innovation.

New medications. New technologies. Artificial intelligence. Remote monitoring. Earlier diagnosis. Better understanding of the disease.

But I think there's another question we need to be asking:

Where is the practical innovation in dementia care?

We talk about person-centered care, dignity, meaningful engagement, and meeting people where they are. But have the practical methodologies caregivers use every day evolved at the same pace?

I explore that question in my latest article—and I'd genuinely like to hear what others think.

Where are you seeing practical innovation in dementia care? And where do we still have work to do?

Read the article here:

https://preservedabilities.com/practical-innovation-dementia-care/

Exploring the need for practical, individualized methodologies in dementia care. Dementia care has changed considerably over the years. We understand more about the disease. We diagnose it earlier. New medications are being developed. Technology is advancing rapidly.

08/04/2026

For decades, strength-based dementia care has changed how we think about supporting people living with dementia.
But here's a question I've been asking:

What if the next evolution isn't another philosophy... but a methodology?

In my newest article, I explore why I believe identifying preserved abilities should be more than a guiding principle—it should be something we can systematically assess, measure, and translate into individualized care.

The article also shares how IntelliAbility built the Preserved Abilities Method™ on the scientific foundation of Dr. Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences and why I believe this represents an important step forward for strength-based dementia care.

I'd love to hear your thoughts after you've had a chance to read it.

Read the full article here:
https://preservedabilities.com/strength-based-dementia-care-methodology/

Strength-based dementia care has evolved from a guiding philosophy toward a structured methodology for identifying and building on preserved abilities. What if the next evolution in dementia care isn't another philosophy—but

07/28/2026

When did choosing memory care become a real estate transaction?

Recently, I started noticing more and more advertisements from real estate professionals helping families transition loved ones into senior living.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, for someone moving into independent living, things like location, amenities, dining, and lifestyle are incredibly important.

But it made me ask a different question...

When someone is living with dementia, should those be the most important factors?

Or should we first ask:

"Where is this person most likely to thrive?"

In my newest article, I explore why choosing memory care is fundamentally different from choosing independent living, and why matching the person to the right environment may be one of the most overlooked aspects of dementia care.

I'd love to hear your thoughts after you've had a chance to read it.

📖 Read the full article here:
https://preservedabilities.com/choosing-memory-care-real-estate-transaction/

If you find it valuable, I'd truly appreciate it if you would share it with others. Every share helps bring more attention to the importance of person-centered, ability-based dementia care.

Choosing memory care isn't just about amenities. Learn why finding the right environment may be the most important decision in dementia care.

07/24/2026

Are we spending too much time helping people with dementia remember the past... and not enough time helping them live today?

That's a question I've been thinking about for a long time.

Life stories, reminiscence, and memory boxes all have an important place in dementia care. But what if we've become so focused on yesterday that we're unintentionally overlooking the person sitting in front of us today?

In my newest article, I explore why the past should help us understand a person—not define the limits of how we care for them today.

It's a perspective that may challenge some long-held assumptions, and I hope it sparks meaningful conversation.
I'd love to hear what you think after you've read it.

👉 https://preservedabilities.com/helping-people-with-dementia-live-in-the-present/

The past helps us understand the person. The present is where we can make the greatest difference. One of the

07/14/2026

"Can we get them something for that?"

I've heard those seven words hundreds of times throughout my career.

This article isn't anti-medication. Medication absolutely has an important place in dementia care.

It's about what often happens before we get there.

When a person living with dementia becomes agitated, starts wandering, refuses care, or repeatedly calls out, those behaviors are often communicating something. They may be signs of pain, fear, illness, hunger, fatigue, boredom, or another unmet need that the person can no longer express with words.

As caregivers, one of the most important questions we can ask isn't, "What can we give them?"

It's, "What are they trying to tell us?"

In this article, I share two real experiences that forever changed the way I think about dementia-related behaviors—and why understanding the "why" behind a behavior can make all the difference.

I hope you'll give it a read, and if it resonates with you, please consider sharing it with others. Together, we can help shift the conversation from simply managing behaviors to understanding the person behind them.

👉 Read the full article here:
https://preservedabilities.com/dementia-behaviors-and-medication/

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Have you ever discovered that a loved one's behavior was actually their way of communicating an unmet need?

When a person living with dementia suddenly becomes agitated, begins wandering, refuses care, or repeatedly calls out, one question often follows: "Can we get them something for that?" I've heard those six words hundreds of times throughout my career. I've heard them in hospitals. I've heard them

07/11/2026

This article isn't directed at caregivers.
It's directed at the people making the biggest decisions in dementia care.

If you're a family caregiver or frontline professional, you've probably experienced the effects of decisions made by executives you'll never meet.

Staffing.

Training.

Policies.

Documentation.

Technology.

The environment.

These decisions shape your day—and the lives of people living with dementia—long before care is ever provided.

I believe we spend a great deal of time educating caregivers, but not nearly enough time educating the executives who design the systems caregivers work within.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Read the full article here:

https://preservedabilities.com/biggest-problem-dementia-care-executives/

If this message resonates with you, please consider sharing it. The conversation about improving dementia care needs to include the people making the biggest decisions.

For years, organizations have invested heavily in dementia education for frontline staff. But there's one group we rarely talk about. The executives making the biggest decisions. After working with organizations across the continuum of dementia care, I've noticed a pattern. Many of the people respon...