Dementia
Alzheimer’s Disease Tips: When There’s an Alternate Reality
These Alzheimer’s disease tips can help when someone is experiencing an alternate reality.
Alzheimer’s disease alters someone’s mind so that memories surrounding more recent incidents are forgotten or mixed up while memories about the more distant past often continue to be intact. This might cause past years to make more sense to an individual with dementia than the present. An individual’s alternate reality can be his or her method of making sense of the present through previous recollections.
People with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia often have problems expressing themselves, and sometimes their alternate reality has more to do with a desire or a particular feeling they are trying to express than it has to do with the things they are saying.
For instance:
“When will my husband be home?” This question could possibly be more about a desire for … Read More »
Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Tip: Dealing with Home Confusion
Like the saying goes, there’s no place like home; but what do you do when a senior loved one firmly insists on going home – when he/she already IS at home? Sadly, when caring for an elderly person with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, this is an all too common conundrum. And the confusion and plaintive yearning being conveyed are simply heartbreaking – and, if we’re truthful, aggravating.
At Hired Hands Homecare, our specially trained Alzheimer’s and dementia care team helps family members handle complex situations such as this, and we encourage trying the following to help restore peace to an unsettled senior with dementia:
Rather than rationalize, validate. Reasoning or disagreeing with someone with dementia can actually boost agitation and unrest. Even if the senior is in the exact same home she’s resided in for more than thirty years, … Read More »
How to Adapt Care Strategies Throughout the Levels of Alzheimer’s
Caring for a senior with Alzheimer’s disease can seem like attempting to solve a constantly changing puzzle. Once you determine the solution to one segment, you discover that the picture has changed, and you need to reconsider your plan of action for the next levels of Alzheimer’s.
Trying to figure out the puzzle of Alzheimer’s care demands continuous education and a group effort, including professionals specifically trained in the numerous facets of Alzheimer’s disease support. Hired Hands Homecare provides the following tips, courtesy of the Alzheimer’s Association, to help families in establishing care strategies throughout the levels of Alzheimer’s:
Early Stages: Family members can best assist a loved one with Alzheimer’s through planning together, offering a patient, calm, listening ear and memory prompts when needed. Strategies consist of:
Be a care advocate for your family member, offering emotional assistance and encouragement.
Help plan for … Read More »
Music and Seniors: These Benefits Will Have You Kicking Up Your Heels!
These days, music is more available than ever before. For those who carry smartphones or tablets with them everywhere they go, hundreds of thousands – if not tens of millions of songs – are simply a couple of touches or finger swipes away. If you are a caregiver for an older person, your smartphone can become one of the most useful tools in your possession in helping connect music and seniors. This widely circulated video clip from the Alive Inside documentary demonstrates just how tremendously effective music can be for older adults with limited abilities and dementia.
With vast musical libraries readily available from places like iTunes, Pandora, Rhapsody, Spotify, and countless others, we can now find music, in many instances for no cost, in a variety of styles in mere seconds. Caregivers can ask clients or family members what sorts … Read More »
How to Turn Bathtime Personal Care Battles into Bliss
What feels finer than sinking into a warm, relaxing bath at the conclusion of a long, busy day? While most of us relish the luxurious comfort that bathtime brings, for seniors, especially those struggling with the challenges of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, it’s certainly not blissful.
For many different reasons, such as memory issues, feelings of vulnerability, or physical distress from the pressure or temperature of the water, helping a senior with the personal care tasks of bathing can feel a lot more like entering a battleground.
Hired Hands Homecare of California wants to help restore the joy of bathtime for both the senior and his or her caregiver with these ideas:
Ensure safety. Keeping the bath area free from hazards is critical. Make certain that:
Grab bars and mats that are slip-resistant are strategically placed in and around the tub
The water temperature is … Read More »
The Hidden Dangers of Providing Alzheimer’s Care and the Importance of Dementia Support
Picture how it would feel to wake up in an unfamiliar place, unable to remember how you got there or even what your name is. Complete confusion swiftly turns into fear and anger, and you may find yourself lashing out at the stranger standing beside your bed, speaking to you in a soft voice.
This scenario paints a bleak and sadly accurate picture of an Alzheimer’s patient’s reality. Now imagine standing in front of a person you love, and having that person look at you with no recognition whatsoever. Each day your heart breaks a little bit more, but you push through the pain and go on with your caregiving duties for your loved one with Alzheimer’s.
According to the latest report from Alzheimer’s Association, a whopping 17.7 billion hours of care are provided by family caregivers each year to those with … Read More »
Hired Hands Homecare: Determining When Seniors with Dementia Should Give Up the Keys
Being able to get out of the house and go where we want on a whim is a freedom many of us have long enjoyed and may even take for granted. Driving represents much more than just a daily routine; it symbolizes both competence and independence. And, it can be an incredibly hard activity to give up.
The need for sustained concentration and quick reaction time tends to decline as we age, and for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, this process accelerates dramatically, making it difficult for loved ones to know when it’s time for the senior to stop driving and find alternate transportation options.
The Warning Signs
Because Alzheimer’s disease has an impact on reasoning skills, your loved one may resist the idea of giving up driving, so it’s often up to family caregivers to determine when the … Read More »
Caught In ACTION!
Caught in ACTION!
I popped into Vintage Sonoma unannounced to do a visit with Julie Slaton’s client. Upon arrival they were in the lobby enjoying popcorn and having a great conversation. Julie was dressed in her Hired Hands Scrub and Badge. She interacted with the staff and client with great professionalism!
The Staff at Vintage Sonoma appreciate Julie’s attentiveness and professional appearance. She is always on time and keeps her client entertained and calm while in the lobby with other residents. They brought us on board to assist client for safety because she has tried multiple times to leave the building. Julie has been successful at keeping client in the building and participating in facility activities.
Julie, THANKS for Shining like a Star!
Melissa W, Homecare Manager
Learning to Deal With Alzheimer’s and Dementia in Pleasanton, Livermore & Dublin
Hired Hands Homecare is proud to present Cathy Wadleigh. Ms. Wadleigh is an LVN, PAC Certified Trainer, and group facilitator specializing in grief recovery and family transition.
Informative sessions focusing on helping families and individuals adjusting to living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia will be held at the Hired Hands Homecare Pleasanton office on the first and third Tuesday of the month, with two sessions 11:30-1pm, and 4:30-6pm.
For more information, please contact Cathy at 925-413-2080, or email her at Cathy@AssistanceWithAging.com.
How to Best Help Those with Alzheimer’s – by Stepping Back
When caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, it’s natural to want to do everything for the person to minimize feelings of frustration – both for your loved one and for yourself. However, it’s in everyone’s best interest for the person with Alzheimer’s to maintain self-worth and dignity by managing tasks as independently as possible. Try these tips to enhance your loved one’s independence:
Allow extra time. Try not to let the issue of time guide the decision on whether or not to take over a task. If your loved one with Alzheimer’s has the ability to perform the task himself, allow the extra time needed and provide encouragement and positive reinforcement along the way.
Break it down. Taking a larger task and separating it into small, simple steps can change it from insurmountable to possible. For example, break down the … Read More »
