Tools for the 9 Most Common Forms of Dementia

Kim Hegwood | February 18, 2025

The Complexity of Dementia: “The hardest thing I think about dementia for families is that the person doesn’t look physically ill until they lose about a pound of brain tissue and are in stage 6 of the disease.”
— Tam Cummings, PH.D.
Welcome to “Life Happens with Kim Hegwood,” the podcast that guides you through life’s unforeseen challenges. In this episode, we have a very special guest, Dr. Tam Cummings, who sheds light on the complexities of dementia and the critical need for early detection and observation of behaviors.
Dr. Cummings discusses the various stages of dementia, common forms of dementia, including toxic dementias, and the importance of understanding the specific type of dementia for appropriate care. Join us as we navigate the landscape of dementia diagnosis and treatment and learn about the observational and staging tools used to assess behaviors in individuals with dementia. Stay tuned as we unravel the intricacies of dementia and provide valuable insights for both individuals and families facing these challenges.
Title: Tools for the 9 Most Common Forms of Dementia

How to Contact
drtam@tamcummings.com
https://tamcummings.com
Bio:
TAM CUMMINGS, PH.D.
Tam Cummings, PhD, founded her company in 2009 with the mission to “Inspire, Educate, and Empower Dementia Caregivers.” Now her professional gerontology practice in the Texas Hill Country is recognized as one of the leading educators of dementia caregivers and program design for dementia care in Texas and nationally.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Dr. Cummings has consistently been reviewed as the top-ranked speaker at more than 300 national, regional, and state conferences.

•  Authored and published four books for dementia caregivers.
• Appears as an expert guest in national podcasts for dementia caregivers.
• Developed the Dementia Behavioral Assessment Tool (DBAT) for staging dementias from 25 years of research in skilled nursing facilities and memory care communities.
•  Developed a classification and staging tool for the behavioral, communication, and movement variations of Frontotemporal Dementias, the only tool of its kind.
• Recognized as the subject matter expert (SME) and program designer in a 2018-2019 CMP Project awarded to Texas Health and Human Services. Cummings developed training for frontline staff to include clinical features of each major form of dementia, specific behaviors presented by different dementias, and correct approaches to activities of daily living (ADL) care for individual residents.
•  Selected as the subject matter expert to design and develop the training content for a 2016-2018 CMP with the Texas Health Care Association. This pilot program reduced the use of antipsychotic medications in skilled nursing by training professional and family caregivers to recognize the most common forms of dementia and the behaviors associated with each disease. Additional components included designing and teaching activity directors to implement appropriate activities for persons with dementia, teaching family caregivers about dementia, and offering Medical Education Credits for physicians.

Contact Kim Hegwood

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