(Image Credit: Curtis Goodrum / CFJC Today)

By Curtis Goodrum

ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS MONTH

TRU professor’s writing helps support caregivers of those living with Alzheimer’s disease

Jan 23, 2026 | 5:12 PM

KAMLOOPS – This month is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and across Canada, more than 700,000 people live with the disease, with close to 400 a day receiving the diagnosis. There is currently no cure for the disease, which affects people’s daily lives by causing brain cells to die, leading to cognitive decline.

This month of recognition allows the Alzheimer Society of B.C. to destigmatize.

“One of the ways that we do that is like we’re having right now, an awareness month by people living with lived experience sharing their stories. It gives people the safety net, if you will, and the opportunity to feel safe to reach out,” said Tara Hildebrand, the support and education coordinator at the Alzheimer Society of B.C.

Laura Doan, a professor of early childhood development at Thompson Rivers University, recently wrote a book about her mother, who lived with Alzheimer’s. 

The book details how Doan’s experience in early childhood development helped to connect them.

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“Change is fairly constant. It’s not every day, but my mom was changing before me. Her communication was changing. Her ability to interact with other people was changing, but she could still communicate. What I was able to do was to take in some of those changes and to adapt to her,” said Doan, who wrote She’s Still My Mom. 

The society provides different programming for people like Doan to help families understand the process.

“The reality is, our job is to meet people where they’re at, whatever stage of the disease they’re at —whether they haven’t received a diagnosis yet, we can give them information and guide them on how to go about the process of getting a diagnosis. Once they’ve received a diagnosis, there are lots of different programs,” said Hildebrand.

Throughout her life and during her diagnosis, Doan’s mother was a joyful person and even when she lost her ability to speak, she could still sing.

“This idea that children have 100 ways to communicate, 100 ways to think, to theorize. Well, that helped me to not just limit my mom’s communication to verbal, but to think that my mom can communicate in so many different ways. And she did, through her body language, through her behaviour, through her music,” said Doan.

Doan believes the title of the book is a reminder for all those whose family is living with Alzheimer’s.

“She’s still my mom. So if someone has a friend or a family member or a loved one who is living with Alzheimer’s, my encouragement would be to remember that they’re still there. They are changing, but they are there,” said Doan.

More information about Alzheimer’s can be found on the Alzheimer’s Society of B.C.’s website.