Richard Taylor

Health Interests

Dementia,  alzheimer's disease

Drugs I am Taking

Richard Taylor has not shared any drug information.

About Me

Born on February 4, 1943 in Jackson Park Hospital on the South Side of Chicago Richard has created and thrived in several different careers. He attended school for 21 years! Earning a B.A., an M.A. and a PhD: of some intellectual value to know, but adding no real value or use to his current life situation. Married to Linda for more years than needed to produce good cheese or great Champaign, he has two children (Jason and Shannon) and two grand children (Kelsi and Christina). He presently lives just North of Houston in Cypress, Texas.

After a quite successful run at college debating, he began his working career as a High School Debate coach. Even today, his spouse sees fading glimpses of his past glories. Unfortunately, for him he wins most of the family debates, but his opinions and positions do not necessarily carry the day with family concerns. Later he became a management trainer, and then while attending graduate school he opened up an arts and crafts store in Bloomington, Indiana. He was the Bi-Centennial Chairperson of Monroe County Indiana. Tiring of both academia and spending most nights in someone’s front room demonstrating candle making, macramé, or decoupage he sought new challenges so he spent a week in Louisville, a week in Nashville, a week in Atlanta and settled in Houston, Texas. Since then he has been a therapist for other therapists, a hospital assistant administrator, an organizational psychologist for Commodore Computer, a Professor , a coach and counselor for professionals over the age of forty who have been re-engineered, downsized, etc. from their jobs and now finds himself a playmate of his 6 year old grand daughter, Christina.

Currently he speaks to groups of physicians every time he is asked, asking them to take the time to first understand people living with the diseases of dementia and their carers before they care about treating diseases.

He likes liver sausage sandwiches with lots of ketchup, and roses and zinnias. Every day he writes about some event or thought that occurred sometime that day. He has concluded from first hand experience and watching and listening to other individuals living with the diseases of dementia that more than once every day they are treated like children, like others wish them to be, like people remember them as being, as individuals who need to be protected from themselves.

Individuals coping with various form of dementia are seldom asked how they want to be treated. They are told what not to do far more times than they are asked, "can I help you do more?" Their brains, abilities, and potential are consistently under rated and under utilized by society, carers, and the professionals who profess to want to help and support them.

He is sometimes too wordy, tells people more than they asked or wanted to know, occasionally funny and sometimes witty, truthful, insightful, and did I mention long-winded.

Several years ago his daughter whispered, “There is something wrong with Dad” into Linda’s ear. A year later, he was diagnosed with Dementia, probably of the Alzheimer’s type. Since then he has been a tireless advocate for the rights and appropriate treatment of people living with a diagnosis of one of the diseases of dementia. He speaks to Physicians, Health Care providers and caretakers of his experiences and the experiences of others living with Dementia.

He is an articulate, thoughtful, intriguing, and sometimes humorous speaker. More than five thousand people have heard him speak. Author of the book Alzheimer’s From the Inside Out, he is a regular contributor to the juried journal Alzheimer’s Care Quarterly. A former member of the Board of Directors of his local chapter, he continues to be an active member of the Early Onset Task force of the U.S. Alzheimer’s Association. One of the founders of the Dementia Action Agenda movement his thoughts and words are closely read and follow throughout the Untied States and in many countries around the World. He works closely with the staff of the U.S. National Alzheimer’s Association on various projects of mutual interest. He is the recipient of the 2006 Ronald Reagan Award for courage awarded by the Alzheimer’s Association.

He has presented for Alzheimer’s Disease International Conference 2006, U.S. Alzheimer’s Education conferences in 2005 and 2006, The Gates Conference 2006 first speaker in history of conference to be asked to return for yet another Opening session), Education Conferences for Local Alzheimer’s chapters through out the U.S.A., many Major Universites (Medical Schools, schools of RT, PT, and OT), Grand Rounds at some of the Major Medical Schools, Pioneer Networking Conferences, and smaller conferences, in-services, and meetings.

Currently an avid gardener, and formerly an ardent reader, he now spends many of his days writing, providing the energy and support for many initiatives to involve people living with a diagnosis of dementia in conversations with health care professionals and care givers, and playing with his Grandchildren.

His observations and reactions to how others respond to people living with Alzheimer’s are based on his own experiences and his interactions with hundreds and hundreds of other individuals living with the disease and living all over the world. He is practical, sensitive, and straightforward.

As more and more individuals are diagnosed earlier and earlier in the course of the disease the need to know and understand Richard’s life experiences becomes more and more valuable. Weaving psychology, his own experiences, and his sense of humor into a narrative that reflects his feelings and observations opens doors to many who are just starting to deal with the consequences of the disease on personality, relationships within families and between friends, and the self-concepts of everyone who is confronting the disease from a variety of perspectives.

Stand up! Speak Up! Do not become a victim of your own silence.

Speak for yourself and those who will follow. Ask Carers and Friends to do the same.

Today will never be here again.Time is of the Essence!! Use it wisely!

Tell as many people as possible your
perceptions of your interactions with
professionals, with carers, with friends, with strangers, with your government.

They won't change unless they know, and
they can't know unless and until you
SPEAK UP!

Seek to create a Palpable Sense of Change and of Urgency!

Join a Crusade, Now!
Be a Crusader, Now!
Lead a Crusade, Now!

"Aim above morality.
Be not simply good,
Be good for something."
Henry David Thoreau