Video: Sundown: Coping with Alzheimer's

Sundown is the narrative of a family adjusting to their grandmother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and her coming to live in the family home. By illustrating the challenges the family experience and the adaptations they make, the film outlines nine coping skills and raises several common concerns experienced by caregivers such as medication, bathing, dressing and changes in personality.

Told from a personal perspective, the video is excellent in its portrayal of the difficulties experienced by both the person with Alzheimer’s disease and the person providing care. The video is narrated primarily by the daughter, who acknowledges and validates the fears and anxieties experienced by her mother who has Alzheimer’s disease and finds ways with her husband to adapt to her mother’s reality. The video addresses the burden on the caregiver but is based on the premise that caregivers can find workable strategies for coping with the disease.

Sundown does not explain the basic nature of the disease, but instead focuses on the problem solving and creative thinking required for behavior issues, daily life and family caregiving. This video is a realistic presentation of the emotional struggle that caregiving can be and encourages a sense of humor and compassion amidst what can be a painful and traumatic journey.

The video is a concise look at one family’s approach to coping with the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, offering caregivers an abundance of practical advice.

Reviewed by: Allison Connolly, Alzheimer Society of B.C.