Learn the Lingo for Alzheimer's

Acronym Anxiety Anyone?

When I visited my first assisted living community, my tour guide was a cheerful young lady who spoke in acronyms.
 
We began our tour in the lobby, then walked past a gracious dining room, and paused in front of a locked double door. A plaque on the wall announced this was the Magnolia Wing, but my guide said, “Here is our secure MCU.”

She punched a code on the keypad and we went through the doors. My acronym anxiety immediately increased. As we toured the community, she bombarded me with code words: ADLs, CNAs, LPNs, MSU, SDP, LTC, DNR and DON. At least one reference every few sentences was a mystery to me.

I understand that language often is reduced to code so people inside a specific field can communicate quickly. But I was new to this, and already distressed just at the idea of assisted living for someone I love.
 
After touring 3 or 4 facilities, I began to remember what some of the acronyms meant

In Retrospect, I Think it Would be Best to Have a Decoder Ring BEFORE You Begin a Purchase as Emotionally and Financially Important as Assisted Living

So, here is a downloadable Learn The Lingo cheat sheet. It doesn’t have every term you’ll encounter, but it has some acronyms ever Alzheimer's caregiver needs to know.