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All Posts Tagged: senior care

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Activities Offered by a Companion Aide

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When someone you love is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it can bring many strong emotions. Anxiety, sadness, and concern about what to do next are all common reactions. Although an Alzheimer’s diagnosis can be scary and overwhelming, it’s important to remember that help is available. Remember that with the right research and a little patience, you can find a qualified, compassionate caregiver to help you with the task of caring for your family member.

Finding the right person to assist your loved one can be a daunting task. You want to find someone who is well qualified to provide great care, in addition to possessing compassion, tact, and gentleness. There are a range of in-home services to choose from including companion services, personal care services, homemaker services, and skilled care. A good thing to keep in mind as you begin your search is that there is no one-size-fits-all care plan that will work for every person with Alzheimer’s. While some people in advanced stages of the disease will require round-the-clock care and more medical help, people with milder symptoms may only need someone to provide companionship.

If your loved one is still relatively independent – able to bathe, dress, and eat with minimal assistance – a companion aide could be the best choice. A companion aide provides company and light supervision. They can read to your loved one, do puzzles and play games with them, go on walks, do crafts and art activities, and provide general interaction and socialization. In contrast to a personal care or medical professional, companion aides are unable to administer medications, perform physical therapy, assist in toileting or bathing, or provide homemaking services. For those with Alzheimer’s, staying socially engaged and active is just as important as staying physically healthy. The goal is to help slow the progress of the disease and preserve their dignity and quality of life.

To receive advice and help about increased aggression and other behavioral difficulties, feel free to contact us. Give us a call at 888-311-1142, or fill out a contact form and we will respond shortly.

Home Health Care New Yrok

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Effective Measures to Facilitate Communication with Alzheimer’s Patients

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Alzheimer’s disease brings many challenges for patients and their loved ones. Loss of independence, memory loss, and physiological changes can all be sources of great stress. Among the challenges faced by people living with Alzheimer’s disease, communication difficulties can be among the most frustrating to navigate. When your formerly articulate loved one suddenly has trouble expressing and understanding even the simplest information, it can be hard to know how to proceed. However, there are things that you can do to facilitate communication and make your life, and the life of your loved one, easier.

People with Alzheimer’s often forget familiar words and phrases. They may struggle to express themselves and have difficulty completing sentences. They may also have trouble understanding what is being said to them. This is often extremely frustrating and confusing for Alzheimer’s patients, as they try to communicate their thoughts and feelings in the face of deteriorating language capacities. As verbal abilities decline, people with Alzheimer’s may repeat themselves, yell, babble, or use foul language. It’s important to remain calm in the face of disturbing behaviors, and recognize that communication difficulties are just as frustrating for your loved one as they are for you.

Although it presents many challenges, there are things you can do to make communicating with your loved one easier. When you approach your loved one, make sure to stay engaged and present: maintain eye contact, focus on their face, and avoid multitasking. Keep your hands away from your face to reduce visual distractions and allow them to read your facial expression, and eliminate other distractions in the environment such as background music and the television. It’s important to remember that even though their ability to understand spoken language may have declined dramatically, people with Alzheimer’s can still understand your body language, facial expression, and tone of voice. Stay upbeat, positive and calm. Try to use body language that conveys attention and respect. Avoid infantilizing or talking down to your loved one. If they don’t understand something that you’re saying, try rephrasing it, rather than simply repeating yourself. Keep information simple and use a clear, even tone of voice. By staying calm and keeping your own frustration in check, you’ll be encouraging your loved one to feel safe and secure, and will be helping them to communicate to the best of their ability.

Edison Home Health Care is happy to advise and assist you or any loved one who seek appropriate care of Alzheimer’s disease. Give us a call at 888-311-1142, or fill out a contact form and we will respond shortly.

Alzheimer Home Care New York

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Best Practices to Help Alzheimer’s Patients Communicate

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As a caregiver, it is important to understand the communication challenges of those afflicted with Alzheimer’s. Communication skills and short term memory are the first to be affected by the disease. Your loved one may began using the same words or phrases repeatedly even when they do not apply to the conversation. They may also invent new words to represent objects they recognize but are no longer able to recollect the correct term. If the person is multilingual, he or she can revert back to their native language. Forgetting names, losing train of thought, and difficulty expressing ideas in a logical order, and a decline in speaking are all common changes.

Despite these various obstacles, there are many ways you can continue to communicate with someone who has Alzheimer’s and prevent further deterioration of communication skills. Being patient and supportive shows your loved one that you care about their needs. Offering comfort and reassurance encourages them to continue speaking even when they are having trouble expressing themselves. You can also offer a guess if they start to get frustrated by the communication barrier. Avoid negativity such as criticism, corrections, and arguments. Instead, focus on listening to decipher meaning. Understand that actions and emotions speak louder than words. The way they are expressing themselves will give you more insight on how they are feeling than the actual words they are saying.

Love and attention are the best medicines for someone with Alzheimer’s. Regardless of their level of communication, take the time to engage in conversation with them regularly. Speak slowly, repeat information when needed, and maintain eye contact. They will be more likely to remember words if they hear them often.

Edison Home Health Care is happy to advise and assist you or any loved one who seek appropriate care of Alzheimer’s disease. Give us a call at 888-311-1142, or fill out a contact form and we will respond shortly.

Alzheimer Home Care New York

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Preparing for the Difficult Late Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

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when-alzheimer-beats-boomerIn the early stages of Alzheimer’s, many patients retain the ability to function with some independence. Even as confusion and forgetfulness become more pronounced, they can still communicate verbally and engage in many activities of daily life, such as bathing, eating, and dressing on their own. As the disease progresses, though, most Alzheimer’s patients become completely dependent on their caregivers in all aspects of life. While this can be tremendously challenging for both patient and caregiver, there are things you can do to ease the transition and preserve the dignity and wellbeing of your loved one in the final stages of Alzheimer’s.

Taking on total responsibility for someone’s care is a huge challenge, and one that should not be faced alone. Connecting with support groups and home health organizations can be tremendously helpful, as can learning about other people’s experiences as caregivers. And, while you may be fully committed to providing care for your loved one at home, there may come a point when round-the-clock care from a health professional, or even a move to an assisted living facility, becomes necessary. If your loved one is experiencing repeated ailments, worsening of physical symptoms, or an inability to eat, it may be time to consider hospice or other palliative care options. For this reason, it’s important to discuss end-of-life care and their wishes surrounding the final stages of their life while your loved one is still capable of decision-making and verbal communication.

Even though your loved one may not be able to communicate verbally, it’s essential to provide them with a sense of dignity and well-being. Because someone with late stage Alzheimer’s experiences the world primarily through their senses, you can use sensory input to communicate when words are no longer sufficient. Playing your loved one’s favorite music, providing gentle massage, brushing their hair, cooking their favorite meals, and displaying bright flowers and family photographs can all have a soothing effect, and communicate to the Alzheimer’s patient that they are safe and loved. Similarly, you can watch for non-verbal cues, such as facial expression, movement, and body language, to determine whether your loved one is experiencing pain or discomfort.

Edison Home Health Care is happy to advise and assist you or any loved one who seek appropriate care of Alzheimer’s disease. Give us a call at 888-311-1142, or fill out a contact form and we will respond shortly.

Alzheimer Home Care New York

 

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