Dementia Teambuilding Summit

UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County

5339 County Road 579, 33584, Seffner, FL, United States

Sandy's Daughter, CherylAnn Haley

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CherylAnn Haley is first and foremost Sandy's Daughter. Sandy has mixed dementia with vascular dementia and Alzheimer's. It took some time for CherylAnn to know what was happening when her Mom's behavior changed. Once she learned it was dementia and started to understand what that meant, CherylAnn knew the two were going to face this challenge as they had all other throughout her life- together and not without a fight. CherylAnn's friends and family supported her being trained by global dementia specialist Teepa Snow and her organization, and she became a Certified Independent Positive Approach to Care Coach. Using her PAC skills, CherylAnn has been able to do things with her Mom and, even now 9 years in, she is able to communicate and interact with her Mom to create some very enjoyable moments.Because CherylAnn believes PAC skills can change the dynamics in relationships affected by dementia, she dedicates a large portion of her time sharing with other families and carepartners. She is also heavily involved in advocacy with the Alzheimer's Association which has enabled her to learn a great deal about free resources available to other families. CherylAnn also has the first hand knowledge of how a carepartner must intentionally make selfcare a priority and that it involves more than going for a pedicure- though she appreciates a good pedicure. In her support groups and conversations, she emphasizes that and helps carepartners find a way to take care of themselves.While her Mom Sandy remains her first priority, CherylAnn is consistently focused on improving her PAC skills, creating engagement opportunities with her Mom that can be shared with others and learning and promoting new resources.