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Family and Aging Policy, edited by Francis Caro

Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) includes language, visuospatial, apraxia, and problem solving or executive function; it is accompanied by a lengthier discussion of behavioral disturbances, such as agitation, wandering, and delusions, all of which are of keen interest to long-term care and day care staff. The summaries of risk factors and neuropathology are accompanied by inset boxes on the Nun Study and on MR (magnetic resonance) brain scans showing atrophy. Figure 11.2, “Criteria for Diagnosis,” is part of the longer discussion of diagnosis: Either the boxes or the figure would be highly useful in explaining what and how AD is diagnosed, and is well supplemented by a chart adapting Cummings and Benson’s earlier (1986) inventory of mental and motor functions used to “rate and distinguish Alzheimer’s from other dementias” (pp. 192–193). Medical treatment is reviewed briefly; behavioral treatments include not only a discussion of areas of concern, such as safety risks derived from impaired memory and judgment, but also bulleted lists for principles of disease management, areas where caregiver assistance is valuable, environmental recommendations, and specific treatments to work with depression, agitation, wandering, and sleep disturbance. An overview of other dementias includes features of Lewy body, vascular, frontotemporal, and subcortical degenerative dementias. Kempler’s work is well known in communication disorders and neurolinguistics, not only for his solid research but also for his clear prose and, as in this text, his goal is to “be practical and helpful” to readers who “have contact with the elderly on a frequent or infrequent basis” (p. viii). The back-cover blurb calls the text “an exceptional introduction for students and professionals,” which is an accurate claim.