Frena Gray-Davidson

Frena Gray-Davidson, British born, American by choice.

Born and raised in England of Scottish parentage.Worked as journalist in Asia for 15 years, was NBC Radio Correspondent for Nepal and BBC stringer in HK. In HK, Frena studied acupuncture and Chinese medicine with Chinese healer Dr But Chak-kei and tai chi with Martial Arts Master Ha kwok-cheung.

She wrote several books on Chinese healing and culture, including "Harmony Rules" and "The Book of Chinese Beliefs", reprinted as "Rough Tao". She also wrote guidebooks to Hong Kong, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

She accidentally became involved in Alzheimer's care soon after her US arrival in 1986 and is now regarded as an international expert in dementia behaviors and communication with people with Alzheimer's dementia.

She is a certified Activity Director and founded a day care program under the National Model Alzheimer's Day Care Program in 1993, She has been an Ombudsman for Longterm Care and was owner/manager of two small care homes.

Her unique approach is called "Brilliant and inspirational," by the Alzheimer Disease Society of England and she gives memory care staff training and direct care staff training and family caregiver seminars for organizations all over the world.

Her writings on Alzheimer's and dementia come directly from her 20 years of hands-on work as a caregiver. She teaches the reality of dementia and the art and psychology of understanding what is not lost. Good communication skills evoke the heart and spirit of the person inside dementia.

She considers that we have as a society too long abandoned the person within dementia. In concentrating largely on the cure, she feels that both caregivers and those with dementia have been left to struggle alone.

This has also given rise to a terrible societal judgment on those with dementia -- that they are empty, gone away, brain-ruined and therefore valueless.

Frena's experience of caregiving is that nothing could be further from the truth, that true communication is always possible with the person with dementia but that caregivers have to be willing to learn how to achieve that.

"The heart is always within, the spirit is always present and the soul is always yearning for the love, acceptance and respect of those who care for them."

She feels that the key to solving issues of difficult behaviors in those with dementia and grief in caregivers is largely the same. It is not hard for those who care for people with dementia to learn how to reach that person within. But the willingness to try to do so can sometimes come hard.

"The irony is that overwhelmed caregivers dealing with challenging behaviors don't understand that they themselves may well be the problem. It doesn't have to be that way. Inviting people to change themselves is the heart of my work."

Author Links

Personal URL: http://www.alzguide.com