EPISODE 3: DEMENTIA CARE: THE HELP YOU WISH YOU HAD SOONER —THE SNOW APPROACH
Subscribe on: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | iHeart
In this episode, we sit down with Teepa Snow MS, OTR/L, FAOTAand Amanda Bulgarelliof the Snow Approach Foundation in Hillsborough, NC for a powerful conversation about what it truly means to support people living with brain change. Drawing from her decades of experience developing the Positive Approach to Care framework, Teepa breaks down how changing how we think about and respond to behaviors can radically improve everyday interactions and reduce stress for both care partners and those they support. You'll come away with clear, real-world strategies—like how to work with someone living with brain change rather than doing things to them—and a richer understanding of what it means to maintain dignity, connection, and shared purpose in care.
TEEPA SNOW
“Dementia doesn’t rob someone of their dignity; it’s our reaction to them that does.”
Teepa Snow MS, OTR/L, FAOTA is one of the world’s leading advocates and educators on the topic of dementia or other forms of brain change. She is an Occupational Therapist with over forty years of rich and varied clinical and academic experience. Her philosophy is reflective of her education, work experience, medical research, and first-hand caregiving experiences. Her advocacy efforts led her to the development of the GEMS® State of Brain Change, a model for understanding the different brain changes that are associated with dementia as well as the brain plasticity experienced by neurotypical individuals. Teepa also created the Snow Approach™ training strategies - effective techniques for anyone seeking to optimize care and support for those living with brain change. As the Education Director of Eastern North Carolina’s Alzheimer’s Association, she also helped to create the nation’s award-winning DVD entitled Accepting the Challenge: Providing the Best Care for People with Dementia. Her user-friendly approaches provide guidance and leadership to international efforts to promote best practices in care.
Teepa’s company, Positive Approach to Care® (PAC™), was founded in 2007 and is now collaborating to improve dementia care in over thirty countries worldwide. PAC provides online and in-person services, training, and products to professionals, family members, the lay public, and people living with brain change.
In 2022, Teepa founded Snow Approach Foundation, a nonprofit organization based near her home in Hillsborough, NC, whose purpose is to foster the development of a neurodiverse, inclusive community through access to information, services, and support.
LINKS:
Positive Approach to Care YouTube channel (contains hundreds of educational videos organized by topic)
“The Dementia Care Partner” Podcast (creative solutions and ideas to common and uncommon dementia care challenges)
AMANDA BULGARELLI
With a master's degree in Educational Leadership and Administration, Amanda Snow Bulgarelli has worked in education for over ten years before joining the Positive Approach to Care team as Lead Mentor, Speaker, and COO. Growing up with Teepa Snow as a mother, Amanda has been a part of Positive Approach to Care from the beginning, serving originally as a teenage volunteer while Teepa developed and refined her approach and techniques.
Amanda’s skills and experience working with students and adults from around the globe have proven to be a tremendous asset. Through her years of teaching, she developed the ability to give each person in the room an individual experience while learning new information or skills.
Recently, Teepa and Amanda co-founded Snow Approach Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Snow Approach provides services and education for those living with brain change and those that support them. Amanda enjoys helping to improve awareness about brain change, with the goal of developing a more inclusive global community.
LINKS:
“Grandma’s Living with Dementia: A Positive Approach to Learning about Dementia for Kids” (a book for kids, co-authored by Amanda Bulgarelli & Abby Snow)
“Bad Words and Dementia: A Positive Approach to Learning about Dementia for Kids” (a book for kids, co-authored by Amanda Bulgarelli & Abby Snow)