07/04/2024
Hi!
Just coming here to introduce myself. I’m Chanie. I’ve been a speech therapist for close to 20 years, specializing in helping people with Dementia, Parkinson’s and other dissabilities. During COVID, I opened a private practice “Mindful Speech & Swallowing” and have been helping people and their families navigate many situations and conditions resulting from their diagnoses including cognitive decline, swallowing , aphasia, voice plus many more. The area I was most drawn to was Dementia, helping people live as independently as possible, enhancing communication and participation in their daily tasks. What I noticed was that possibly more than the person with the diagnosis, the one struggling most is the caregiver, working all day, every day to support their loved ones through their cognitive and functional decline, cooking, cleaning, taking to appointments, bathing (the list is endless)… often having to take care of their own families, careers and medical needs themselves. The person that needed most support and was not getting it was the caregiver- the one who selflessly gives of her or himself to care for their loved one, navigating very difficult situations, unsure and scared of what’s to come in the near future. I see my mother selflessly caring for her parents and in need of a lot of support, so here I am to tell you “I see you and want to be there for you!” What areas of caregiving do you find most challenging and need most support with? DM me.
