Living with Dementia -- Making the Most of the Moment

A woman diagnosed with dementia has made sure that all the legal paperwork has been taken care of, participates in an online support group, and has created a "dementia daze" blog to help others.

A key to prolonging independence, participants told her, is to recognize the triggers that aggravate her symptoms and to adjust her routine to head them off. One strategy: Because noise in a grocery store can cause confusion, Mrs. Scherrer shops in the early morning, when the store is quieter.

Most important, she said, the group taught her she “can still live a meaningful, happy life, at least for now.”

To that end, Mrs. Scherrer, of Oley, Pa., writes a blog that provides advice on living with dementia, and she is a mentor to others with cognitive impairments. As a member of the advisory board of the Dementia Action Alliance, an advocacy group, she speaks at conferences of policymakers and neurologists, suggesting ways they can arrange for better, and more sensitive, care.

Mrs. Scherrer has bad days when she is “crying because I don’t know where I am,” she said, but “I have a passion now, and that passion keeps me going.”

Leading an Active Life With a Diagnosis of Dementia