Traveling Our Road

How do you help a child visit a loved one living with dementia?

Written by Gail Neustadt (pen name Dylan Weiss), a geriatric speech-language pathologist, licensed nursing home administrator, and former family caregiver, Traveling Our Road began as a simple picture book for the author's then two-and-a-half-year-old grandson. It was created to reduce the fear and anxiety children may experience when visiting a grandparent or other loved one living with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia.

Through the story of Dylan and her best friend, DJ, young children learn that although memory and communication may change, love and connection can remain. The book introduces the idea of bringing one's own "magic" to a visit through shared experiences, imagination, patience, and compassion, helping children find meaningful ways to connect with a loved one whose abilities have changed.

Beautifully illustrated by Abigail Walouke, Traveling Our Road is a valuable resource for families, educators, healthcare professionals, faith communities, and dementia-care programs. It also stimulates discussion among adult caregivers and support groups about communication, caregiving, loss, resilience, and hope.

A heartfelt story for readers of all ages, Traveling Our Road reminds us that dementia may change a person's abilities, but it does not erase the life they have lived or the love they continue to share. It leaves readers with a simple truth: love remains.

Dylan, (aka Gail Neustadt) who earned advanced degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from CWRU and the University of Michigan, specialized in new service delivery systems for those with Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive disorders. She was a nationally recognized speaker and invited member of the HCFA (CMS) Multi-State Case-Mix and Quality Demonstration Project which established the prospective payment system for long-term care and quality of care indicators used by surveyors. For ten years prior to retirement, Dylan was CFO and owner of two companies, GNI, a contract therapy company providing Physical, Occupational and Speech-Language Therapy services in long-term care; and G-Networks providing education and training to rehabilitation professionals throughout the country.In 2001, six years before her husband's death, Dylan's article, "Side by Side: Traveling the Road and Sharing the Load of Alzheimer's Disease," was published in the ASHA Leader (American Speech Language Hearing Association). The article received a prestigious award from SNAP (Society for National Association Publications) and was followed six years later by a second article, "Still Traveling the Road." Dylan explains that it was the second article, along with a series of mystical experiences, that catapulted her onto a less traveled writing road. Noting parallels between mental degradation caused by her husband's illness and environmental degradation caused by corporate pollution, Dylan began writing "Skunk Tales Trilogy." All three books, "Norton's Tale," "Sebastian's Tale" and "Quinn's Quill" use animal characters to depict the increasing dangers of a new gold rush ... unconventional natural gas drilling. Both "Norton's Tale" and "Sebastian's Tale," published by Red Engine Press are award winners and "Quinn's Quill" is currently being completed.In addition to her writing, Dylan walks her talk by sitting on several community boards and giving testimony at DEP, EPA and local public hearings. She is a member and supporter of many environmental organizations and writer for a local magazine. Although her motivation for environmental activism originated with her husband's illness, it is now driven by the love she has for her grandchildren, Joey, Dylan, Samantha and Jordan; all of our grandchildren and generations to come!

Abigail Walouke is an illustrator and animator based in Columbus, Ohio. She holds a Bachelors in Fine Arts from The Ohio State University. Currently she works full time as an Animator for Outsider Video and Motion based in Columbus while doing freelance illustration for small publishers and other businesses.She is known for her love of painstaking research behind her illustration. Through fantasy and fiction she hopes to teach her viewers something, whether about Alzheimer's Disease as seen in Traveling Our Road, women empowerment, poverty, sports, or imagination.