Senior Independence

As many as half of all seniors living at home are not utilizing life-changing adaptive tools.

Consider the many tools you make use of each day – your phone, toothbrush, hairbrush – simple items, but ones you can’t imagine living without. For many seniors, there are basic but life-changing adaptive tools available that could mean the difference between living at home and facing a move to assisted living. Yet almost 50% of seniors living at home are not utilizing these helpful tools – even though costs are minimal.

A recent National Health and Aging Trends Study assessed the ability of older adults to execute tasks such as rising unassisted from a sitting position and walking, and discovered that a large number of the participants could benefit from assistive devices.

Not only that, but the likelihood of older adult … Read More »

Studies are showing an increase in senior falls from medications, making it imperative to know what to do to reduce fall risk.

We’ve known for a while that there are certain medications that raise the likelihood of falls for seniors. Twenty years ago, a little over half of seniors were impacted by that risk; yet today, that number has increased dramatically – to a staggering 94% of older adults who are now in danger of senior falls from medications. Additionally, deaths from such falls are happening at more than twice the earlier rate.

Researchers who observed this growing concern also discovered that between 1999 and 2017, senior prescriptions for medications that escalate fall risk were filled more than 7.8 billion times. This consists of a spike from 12 million antidepressants in 1999 to greater than 52 million in … Read More »

Help someone you love discover the incredible benefits of gardening for older adults.

The cool dampness of rich soil. The warmth of the sun’s rays. The joyful trills of songbirds. Gardening has the capacity to engage so many of our senses, and offers a great deal of positive benefits to seniors. Regardless of ability level or any space restrictions, there is always a way to help those you love reap the many benefits of gardening for older adults through the joys of planting outdoors or indoors, watching new growth appear, and harvesting.

If you’re struggling to come up with engaging activities for someone with Alzheimer’s and vision problems, give these ideas a try!

Finding meaningful, engaging ways to spend each day for a senior loved one with Alzheimer’s can be a challenge. Add in vision impairment, and it might seem overwhelming. Even so, it’s vitally important to ensure every day holds opportunities for purpose and joy – minimizing the level of agitation, frustration, and other difficult emotions and behaviors in dementia. If you’re coming up blank when trying to come up with these kinds of activities for someone with Alzheimer’s and vision problems, we have some suggestions you can try.

If your family members refuse to help with senior care for a loved one, there are effective ways to get the help you need!

If you find yourself handling all of the care responsibilities for an aging parent while your siblings distance themselves from offering help, you’re not alone. In fact, as many as one out of every two family caregivers are taking care of an aging loved one on their own, according to a recent report from AARP. What can you do when family members refuse to help with senior care?

There are several reasons why siblings may shy away from supporting you in the care you’re providing. We’ve compiled the most common, along with what you can do to remedy the situation.

They don’t realize there’s a need for help. It may very well be that from … Read More »

Discover how to help seniors after a fall to regain the confidence they need to stay active while preventing a second fall.

While comedians and circus clowns may stir audiences to laughter over such stunts as slipping on a banana peel, there’s nothing funny about falling when it comes to seniors, who are at an elevated risk for serious injuries which could lead to a long rehabilitation process. Not just that, but there’s a lesser known complication that typically comes from a senior’s fall: a fear of falling again which is extreme enough to impact quality of life and health. Knowing how to help seniors after a fall to feel safe and secure again is crucial.

As the saying goes, “Once bitten, twice shy.” It is natural – and sensible – for a loved one who has fallen … Read More »

Dementia delusions can lead to false accusations, and it’s important to know how to respond.

Dementia delusions can come seemingly out of thin air: you place your loved one’s favorite chicken salad sandwich in front of her – light on the mayo, no onions – something she typically enjoys. But today, she pushes the plate away and will not take a bite, insisting that you’ve poisoned the food.

Or, you’ve provided your loved one with a meaningful activity that links her to a significant time in her past career, sorting paperwork. Out of the blue, she accuses you of tampering with the documents in order to steal money from her banking account.

How can you respond to dementia delusions or hallucinations without further agitating the person? Try these strategies:

Keep a controlled, soothing, understanding tone. It might be instinctive … Read More »

Finalizing all of the necessary legal documents for aging parents can be a challenge, but these tips can help.

If there’s one thing we learned from the COVID pandemic, it’s to be ready for anything. Although it’s human nature to want to procrastinate, particularly as it relates to the unpleasant topic of future planning and putting together all of the necessary legal documents for aging parents, now is the best time to take stock of your loved ones’ final wishes and make sure all of the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, before the need arises.

Surprisingly, a number of older adults actually do begin the process of completing a will, trust, durable power of attorney, advance healthcare directive, etc., but for a variety of reasons, they never finalize these important documents. Attorney Carolyn Rosenblatt, author of … Read More »

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Try these tips for rummaging behaviors in dementia.

Digging through boxes, cabinets, and closets, taking out assorted items from drawers, and searching repetitively through a number of items may be frustrating for the people providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, but in fact these actions are fulfilling a purpose. Rummaging behaviors in dementia can provide a degree of reassurance, along with the comfort of identifying familiar items and finding purpose and meaning.

The important thing then is not to discourage rummaging, which might lead to agitation, but to more effectively manage this behavior if it becomes disruptive.

How Can You Help Someone with Dementia with Rummaging Behaviors?

These guidelines will help:

Keep rummaging to a controlled area. Assemble bins of items the senior seems especially interested in, such as keys, paperwork, a billfold, tools, gardening equipment, sewing … Read More »