In this episode, Carlyn tells the story of a woman at an adult day program who had the hardest time getting out of a chair. Staff would walk her through it step by step, scoot forward, feet back, lean forward, push, stand, and the more instructions she got, the more stuck she became. But if Carlyn simply held out her hand and said "come with me," she had a much better chance of standing up on her own. Same woman. Same chair. Same legs. What changed wasn't her strength, it was what her brain was being asked to do with the information coming at her. That's the doorway into the third spoke of the Wheel of Function™: physical function, and why it is so much more than a question of "is she strong enough."

The problem was never just about the chair, or the six-step instruction, or the sweater that didn't get finished. Carlyn walks through why "he did it this morning" doesn't mean "he can do it tonight," why a couch can be a harder physical task than a dining chair even for the exact same person, why unexplained pain often hides behind "he doesn't want to," and why more help isn't always better help. She makes the case that physical function fluctuates the same way it does in any of us, and that the real question is never "can they or can't they," it's "what do they need to be successful right now."

In This Episode

• The chair everyone assumed was a strength problem
• The six-step instruction that got in the way
• Why "he did it this morning" doesn't mean "he can do it tonight"
• What "how much help is actually helpful" really means
• What's coming next in the series

Connect with Carlyn
FREE Weekly Newsletter, Finding Our Way In Dementia Care -> https://abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com/page/weekly-sign-up-1?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=ep6_shownotes
Website -> https://www.abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562478140551
Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/abetterwaydementiacaresolution/
LinkedIn -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyn-lenfestey-abetterwaydementiacaresolutions
Pinterest -> https://www.pinterest.com/carlyn0832/
YouTube -> https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingDementia

If this one changed how you'll look at "he can't do this anymore," follow the show so you catch what's next: the cognitive spoke, and the story that's been waiting for it since this episode's opening scene.

In this episode, Carlyn tells the story of a resident in long-term care who kept ending up on the floor, not from a stumble, not from a lost transfer, just a sudden trip to the floor, usually right after a loud noise. No reaching, no sliding, no lost balance, nothing about it looked like a normal fall. The pattern didn't make sense until Carlyn learned what was underneath it: a man with severe PTSD, taking cover from a sound only he could really hear. What started as a mystery about falls became the doorway into the second spoke of the Wheel of Function™: emotional function, and how much of dementia behavior is actually emotion wearing a different name.

The problem was never just about the falls, or the anger, or the shower that got refused. Carlyn walks through why a mom might pull away from a shower, why a dad might insist he has to get home to a mother who's been gone for twenty years, and why "leave me alone" might be less about agitation and more about a very human need for control. She traces the shift from asking "how do we stop this behavior" to asking "what might this person be feeling right now," and why that one change opens up entirely different options for care.

In This Episode

• The "falls" that weren't falls
• What "hit the deck" had to do with it
• Why the truth isn't always the kindest thing to say
• Why anger might be about control, not confusion
• What's coming next in the series

Connect with Carlyn
FREE Weekly Newsletter, Finding Our Way In Dementia Care -> https://abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com/page/weekly-sign-up-1?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=ep5_shownotes
Website -> https://www.abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562478140551
Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/abetterwaydementiacaresolution/
LinkedIn -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyn-lenfestey-abetterwaydementiacaresolutions
Pinterest -> https://www.pinterest.com/carlyn0832/
YouTube -> https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingDementia

If this one hit close to home, follow the show so you catch what's next: another spoke of the Wheel of Function™, and how it connects to everything we covered today.

In this episode, Carlyn tells the story of a resident in long-term care who kept ending up on the floor, and the evaluation that turned up nothing: strong legs, steady balance, a normal gait. The falls didn't make sense until she started asking a different set of questions, not just how he was falling, but where and when. What she found in his room became the doorway into the first spoke of the Wheel of Function™: sensory function, and how much more it covers than most caregivers ever think to ask about.

The problem was never just about falls. Carlyn walks through why a person might suddenly refuse a shower, stop answering questions in a noisy room, or pull away from a familiar touch, and why each of those moments might be the brain's sensory system trying to communicate something the words can't. She traces the shift from asking "how do we stop this behavior" to asking "what is this person's brain actually seeing, hearing, and feeling right now," and why that one change opens up entirely different options for care.

In This Episode

• The evaluation that found nothing wrong
• What a maroon bedspread had to do with it
• Why "refusing" a shower might be a sensory response
• The question that turns behavior into a clue
• What's coming next in the series

Connect with Carlyn

FREE Weekly Newsletter, Finding Our Way In Dementia Care -> https://abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com/page/weekly-sign-up-1?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=ep4_shownotes

Website -> https://www.abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562478140551
Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/abetterwaydementiacaresolution/
LinkedIn -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyn-lenfestey-abetterwaydementiacaresolutions
Pinterest -> https://www.pinterest.com/carlyn0832/
YouTube -> https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingDementia

If this one hit close to home, follow the show so you catch what's next: another spoke of the Wheel of Function™, and how it connects to everything we covered today.

In this episode, Carlyn tells the story of a dementia course she took in Nashville almost ten years before she ever started A Better Way, and the question that followed her home afterward: she believed everything she'd just learned, so why couldn't she picture how any of it fit together? That question sat with her through years of treating patients and leading family workshops, watching good, true information pile up in disconnected pieces instead of one usable picture.

The problem was never a lack of information. Most families and professionals already have plenty of it, scattered across courses, research, and well-meaning advice that rarely agrees on where to start. Carlyn walks through the bicycle wheel she used to teach families, and why it worked right up until the next important idea refused to fit next to it. She traces the years of quietly testing, sketching, and rethinking that followed, and the unexpected question, sparked by her own logo, that finally connected everything into what she now calls the Wheel of Function™.

In This Episode

• Why more information rarely solves the real problem
• The bicycle wheel that worked, until it didn't
• The question a lighthouse accidentally asked
• How ten years of scattered ideas became one framework
• What's coming next in the series

Connect with Carlyn
FREE Weekly Newsletter, Finding Our Way In Dementia Care -> https://abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com/page/weekly-sign-up-1?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=ep3_shownotes
Website -> https://www.abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562478140551
Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/abetterwaydementiacaresolution/
LinkedIn -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyn-lenfestey-abetterwaydementiacaresolutions
Pinterest -> https://www.pinterest.com/carlyn0832/
YouTube -> https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingDementia

If this one hit close to home, follow the show so you catch what's next: how each spoke of the Wheel of Function™ actually works.

In this episode, Carlyn tells the story of a husband in one of her support groups who'd tried everything, redirecting, distracting, reassuring, validating, and still felt like nothing worked. That conversation cracked open a shift in how she thinks about every hard moment in dementia care.

The strategies most of us are taught (redirect, distract, validate, reassure) aren't wrong. But handing them out before understanding what's actually happening is like a physical therapist prescribing exercises before ever evaluating what's causing the pain. Carlyn walks through why the same behavior, like refusing a shower, can come from five completely different causes, and why the question "what's really going on?" has to come before any response.

In This Episode

• Why "I've tried everything" usually means someone skipped a step, not that they failed
• The physical therapy parallel: evaluate before you treat
• Why the same behavior can have completely different causes
• The one question to ask before reaching for another strategy
• What's coming next in the series

Connect with Carlyn
FREE Weekly Newsletter, Finding Our Way In Dementia Care -> https://abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com/page/weekly-sign-up-1?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=ep2_shownotes
Website -> https://www.abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562478140551
Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/abetterwaydementiacaresolution/
LinkedIn -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyn-lenfestey-abetterwaydementiacaresolutions
Pinterest -> https://www.pinterest.com/carlyn0832/
YouTube -> https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingDementia

If this one hit close to home, follow the show so you catch what's next: how to organize the answers once you're asking better questions.

In this first episode of Navigating Dementia, Carlyn shares the story that started it all: her grandfather Steve, a small-town shopkeeper in Limestone, Maine, who spent his mornings getting dressed for work, for a store that had burned down years before.

That shift in perspective became the foundation for A Better Way: Dementia Care Solutions. It's the story behind why this show exists, and why Carlyn believes behavior is never the problem, it's always the signal.

In This Episode

• The story of Carlyn's grandfather Steve and the store that burned down
• Why what looked like confusion wasn't confusion at all
• How that shift in perspective became the foundation of A Better Way: Dementia Care Solutions
• What to expect from Navigating Dementia going forward

Connect with Carlyn
FREE Weekly Newsletter, Finding Our Way In Dementia Care -> https://abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com/page/weekly-sign-up-1?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=ep1_shownotes
Website -> https://www.abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562478140551
Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/abetterwaydementiacaresolution/
LinkedIn -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyn-lenfestey-abetterwaydementiacaresolutions
Pinterest -> https://www.pinterest.com/carlyn0832/
YouTube -> https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingDementia

If this story sat with you, follow the show so you don't miss what's next.

If you've ever found yourself thinking, There has to be a better way, you're in the right place.

Most care partners are not looking for more information. They're looking for someone to help them make sense of what they're seeing. When dementia changes the way a person thinks, communicates, or responds to the world around them, it can leave you feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, and wondering if you're doing enough.

You are not alone.

Join physical therapist, dementia educator, and coach Carlyn Lenfestey each week for practical guidance, heartfelt stories, and a fresh perspective on dementia care. Drawing from more than 25 years of clinical experience and her own family's journey with dementia, Carlyn helps care partners look beyond the behavior, understand what it may be communicating, and respond with greater confidence and compassion.

Whether you're caring for a parent, spouse, friend, neighbor, or supporting people professionally, you'll find practical tools, encouragement, and a reminder that you don't have to navigate this journey alone.

Welcome. I'm so glad you're here.

In This Trailer

•  Why Navigating Dementia was created 
•  What you can expect from future episodes 
•  A different way to think about dementia care 
•  How this podcast will help you make sense of what you're experiencing

Connect with Carlyn
FREE Weekly Newsletter, Finding Our Way In Dementia Care ->https://abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com/page/weekly-sign-up-1?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=trailer_shownotes
Website -> https://www.abetterwaydementiacaresolutions.com
Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562478140551
Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/abetterwaydementiacaresolution/
LinkedIn -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyn-lenfestey-abetterwaydementiacaresolutions
Pinterest -> https://www.pinterest.com/carlyn0832/
YouTube -> https://www.youtube.com/@NavigatingDementia

If this sounds like the kind of support you've been looking for, be sure to follow the show so you don't miss an episode. I can't wait to navigate this journey with you.