Caring for dementia patients at home means that families need to make the right choices along the way. The demands of caring for someone with dementia are not easy to handle alone, which means it’s important to look for solutions early in the game. Alzheimer’s care providers offer support and assistance that is invaluable for families who want to help dementia patients stay at home for as long as possible.
Understanding Dementia
Dementia involves cognitive decline that happens over a period of time for patients. Dementia progresses at different rates for different people, so there’s no one set of answers for every patient and no way to know for sure how fast the illness will progress. This is a condition that is going to continue to worsen over time, so families need to prepare now for that eventuality.
Creating a Safe Space
Supporting a safe environment and removing hazards as much as possible is so important for dementia patients. These safety concerns are similar to the ones necessary for any aging adult, but there might be additional changes, too. Removing household chemicals to a locked cabinet may be an important step, for instance.
Establishing Routines
Routines help to offer stability for dementia patients, which helps to reduce anxiety. Home care providers can be a huge help with developing routines and schedules that help seniors move through their days easily. Incorporating familiar activities can be very soothing for seniors, helping them to continue to enjoy their daily activities.
Emphasizing Effective Communication
As dementia progresses, communication can become more complicated. Using simple, clear language and speaking slowly to seniors can help a lot. It’s also important for family members to remember to stay patient and to pay attention to non-verbal cues. Alzheimer’s care providers can help family members learn how to effectively communicate with seniors who have dementia.
Including Engaging Activities
Engaging activities are ones that keep the senior’s brain stimulated and that they enjoy doing. Memory activities, like games, puzzles, and stories about the past, are excellent ones to include. Physical activities like walking or dancing help to keep blood moving and also help seniors to burn off excess energy. It’s also a good idea to make room in the daily routine for creative activities. Seniors with dementia find it easier to express themselves through artistic means than words sometimes.
Offering Emotional Support
Alzheimer’s care providers also offer companionship to seniors with dementia. They spend quality time with seniors, validating their feelings and experiences. This helps seniors to feel more secure, even as their health and cognition change.
It’s so important for family caregivers to feel as if they can safely take breaks, too. Alzheimer’s care providers can be there to offer respite assistance while they also support safety at home for dementia patients. If aging in place is what dementia patients want to do, it’s essential to try all the different ways to make that experience as positive and helpful as possible to the aging adult who has dementia. The right assistance makes all the difference in meeting that goal.
If you or a senior loved one needs Alzheimer’s care in Hillside, NJ or surrounding areas, please call our friendly staff at 908-590-1759.
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