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Taming the Chaos of Dementia is a compassionate guide for caregivers navigating the emotional and practical challenges of dementia. Drawing from her personal caregiving journey, Barbara Huelat offers therapeutic, non-pharmaceutical interventions to address the behaviors, triggers, and emotional struggles associated with dementia. Through real-life stories paired with practical strategies, she explores how the power of place, sensory engagement, and emotional connection can bring moments of calm, joy, and resilience to both caregivers and their loved ones. This book focuses on improving quality of life through simple, evidence-based tools that address the visceral and emotional impact of dementia. While it acknowledges the realities of the disease, it empowers caregivers with actionable solutions to reduce stress and enhance daily caregiving. With its blend of empathy and expertise, Taming the Chaos of Dementia provides a lifeline for caregivers seeking to navigate this journey with hope and understanding.

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This journal is more than just a place for words; it’s a trusted companion. It will guide you through the emotional highs and lows of caregiving, offering comfort, insight, and opportunities for personal growth. Journaling offers a holistic approach to managing the demands of caregiving, promoting emotional healing, self-awareness, and resilience. With its blend of empathy and expertise, Taming the Chaos of Dementia provides a lifeline for caregivers seeking to navigate this journey with hope and understanding. This book focuses on improving quality of life through simple, evidence-based tools that address the visceral and emotional impact of dementia. While it acknowledges the realities of the disease, it empowers caregivers with actionable solutions to reduce stress and enhance daily caregiving. With its blend of empathy and expertise, Taming the Chaos of Dementia provides a lifeline for caregivers seeking to navigate this journey with hope and understanding.

Hardcover $15.00

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Authors: Barbara Huelat and Ruth Shea

​Caring for someone with dementia is a journey of the heart—and this book is your pocket guide for the road. The Caregiver’s Compass offers a lifeline to those navigating the unpredictable terrain of dementia caregiving. Whether you're facing daily challenges or moments of profound emotional strain, this quick-reference guide provides over 100 tried-and-true tips to help calm disruptive behaviors, enhance communication, and bring comfort and connection to both you and your loved one. Inspired by the lived experiences of real caregivers, this book delivers practical, compassionate strategies that can be used on the fly—when emotions run high, when decisions are hard, and when you simply need a moment of encouragement. These heartfelt suggestions serve as road signs along your caregiving journey: reminders to stop and reflect, yield to changing realities, and sometimes take a different path. Perfect as a stand-alone resource or a supplement to Taming the Chaos of Dementia: A Caregiver’s Guide to Interventions that Make a Difference, this book meets you where you are—with empathy, clarity, and a deep understanding of what caregiving truly demands. Whether you’re just beginning your caregiving role or are deep in the midst of it, The Caregiver’s Compass is here to offer comfort, direction, and the reassuring sense that you’re not alone.

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Authors: Barbara Huelat and Ruth Shea

​This Is Me: A Guide to Person-Centered Care More than a care plan—this is a portrait of a person. This Is Me is a thoughtfully designed notebook created for use in professional care settings, helping caregivers see beyond a dementia diagnosis to the full, vibrant person who still resides within. Grounded in the principles of person-centered care, this practical guide offers a structured yet deeply personal space to capture what truly matters to each resident—their routines, preferences, joys, and life stories. Written as a heartfelt message from someone living with dementia, the book invites caregivers to engage with empathy, presence, and respect. It emphasizes the small but powerful ways care teams can preserve dignity and build trust—through knowing the music that brings comfort, the foods that delight, the habits that soothe, and the memories that still spark connection. Inside, care staff will find: - Guided prompts for gathering personal history and preferences - Spaces for families to contribute stories, photos, and insights - Practical tools for enhancing daily routines and emotional well-being - A framework for building stronger resident-caregiver relationships This Is Me is more than a tool—it’s a bridge. A bridge between who someone was, who they are, and who they are still becoming. Ideal for memory care communities, nursing homes, and assisted living centers, this guide supports staff in delivering care that is not only effective but deeply human. Perfect for onboarding new caregivers, deepening family involvement, or simply ensuring that no resident’s story is forgotten.

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Authors: Barbara Huelat and Ruth Shea

​Your companion in the everyday moments of caregiving—practical, personal, and deeply supportive. Caring for a loved one with dementia can feel overwhelming, unpredictable, and emotionally exhausting. Caring Through Chaos is a hands-on notebook created specifically for home-based family caregivers who need both structure and support as they navigate this complex journey. This beautifully designed, easy-to-use notebook helps you stay grounded amidst the chaos. It offers a place to track daily routines, record behaviors and triggers, and organize important care information—all while nurturing your own emotional well-being through guided prompts and moments of reflection. Inside you'll find:​ ​- Daily and weekly care logs to help you notice patterns and progress - Thoughtful prompts to reflect, release stress, and find gratitude - Dedicated sections for tracking medical details, medications, and appointments - Space to record what brings your loved one joy, comfort, or calm - Encouraging insights from fellow caregivers who understand what you're facing Whether you're just starting or have been caregiving for years, Caring Through Chaos offers clarity, connection, and comfort—reminding you that you're not alone, and your care makes a difference.

Michael P Pietrzak, MD 
Chairman, The Views Development, LLC

Despite billions in research dollars and numerous promises of pharmacologic cures that keep Wall Street buzzing  - the “silver bullet” to relieve society of the burdens dementia eludes us.  Barbara Huelat has seen dementia as a family member, care giver, designer and researcher.  Few even approach her level experience and perspective on the subject of living with dementia.   But beyond that breadth of experience, expertise, research and knowledge is a profound human hand in all the insights, pearls, hacks and advice.   That steady human touch guiding the application of science and experience is really needed to “Tame the Chaos” Huelat and Pochron have been able to accumulate, assemble and present what is known scientifically combined with touching and real human experiences so that we can apply knowledge to challenges of dementia.   Spoiler alert! -The reader may well end up with more insight into dementia care than a number of the healthcare providers they will encounter in their journey.   

Additional Published Works by Barbara

Healing Environments: Design for the Body, Mind, and Spirit

Published June 3, 2003

Healing Environments: What's the Proof?

Published October 5, 2009

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Barbara Huelat Interview at Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands on Taming the Chaos if Dementia

October 21, 2024

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Check Your EyesDid you know that blindness or low vision affects 3.3 million Americans age 40 and over? Alexandria Times 

February 15, 2024

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Barbara Huelat Discusses Aging at Home in Washington Independent

December 14, 2023

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Orthodox Diocese Features Barbara's Personal Dementia Journey in The Messenger Newsletter

November 27, 2023

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OK News Listed Taming the Chaos of Dementia as a
"Must Read"

December 5, 2023

Without Change, Our Graying Society Will Continue to Age Itself Into Poverty - 
Barbara Huelat Quoted in AOL, MSN, and GoBankingRates

November 30, 2023

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Barbara Huelat Shares Tips for Enjoying the Holidays with
Loved Ones in 
Alzheimer's Caregivers

November 27, 2023

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Barbara Huelat's Thoughts on Volunteerism in 
Vox Article

November 27, 2023

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Barbara Huelat Approach to Design for Wellness Featured in 
Elephant Journal

November 21, 2023

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Barbara Huelat, Winner of the 2023 Changemaker Award, Featured in
Healthcare Design Magazine

November 14, 2023

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Barbara Huelat, Winner of the 2023 Changemaker Award, Featured in
Healthcare Design Magazine

November 14, 2023

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Press Release: Barbara Huelat  2023 Changemaker Award Featured in Digital Journal

November 2, 2023

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Barbara Huelat on What to Expect as a Caregiver in Suburban Family Magazine

October 31, 2023

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Barbara Huelat on Reducing Caregiver Stress Featured in Authority Magazine

October 7, 2023

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Barbara Huelat on How to Speak Dementia Featured on The Tonic Podcast

October 7, 2023

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Barbara Huelat on Caregiver Depression Featured in Authentic Insider Magazine

October 1, 2023

Published Articles

Barbara's work has also been published in the following outlets:

Medicina 2020

Currently, one in eight people over the age of 65 have dementia, and approximately 75% of caregiving is provided by volunteer family members with little or no training. This study aimed to quantify points of stress for home-based caregivers with the aim of reducing stress for them while concurrently supporting quality of life for the people with dementia whom they cared for. The overreaching purpose was to increase our knowledge of the caregiver stress burden and explore potential technologies and behaviors to ease it.

Read more

Journal of Greenbuilding, Summer 2008

Biophilia is defined as a love of the living world. We seek nature, especially when we don't feel well. Nature can calm us with a beautiful sunset or invigorate us with a spring rain. Both ancient and modern people use nature in healing. Nature has always offered healing places: a sacred spring, a reflective pond, a quiet grove, and majestic peaks. For centuries we have sought these sanctuaries in our quest for health and healing.


Read more

The Center for Health Design

Wayfinding is a person’s spatial behavior or orientation. Spatial orientation is the static relationship to space or the environment. The concept of spatial orientation is the predecessor of wayfinding. This relationship requires the user to form an overall mental image of the layout of the place. This image is referred to as the cognitive map of the setting. Cognitive mapping concerns the ability to visualize a map, and wayfinding uses the cognitive-mapping process to solve location-based problems.

Unlike spatial orientation with its static relationship to space, wayfinding is a dynamic relationship to the space. It is dynamic in that people’s movement with their direct sense of orientation to place must be accommodated.

Read more

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©2024 by Barbara J Huelat.

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