If you’re the sole caregiver for a senior with dementia, you’re probably facing multiple challenges, and you may not know who to turn to for help. Fortunately, there are people and organizations that can make your role as a caregiver a little less stressful so both you and your aging loved one can better enjoy your time together.
Community Senior Center
A senior center can provide a place to socialize and engage in age-appropriate activities while meeting new friends. Seniors with dementia often become socially isolated, and when this happens, they may become anxious, angry, and depressed, which can lead to unwanted behaviors such as aggression and combativeness. The staff at community senior centers also have experience caring for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
Primary Care Doctor
Your loved one’s primary care physician understands the physical and psychological needs of aging adults with dementia and can offer you high-quality advice. The healthcare provider can also recommend treatment options, suggest mental health professionals for you and your loved one to talk to, and connect you with highly rated home care agencies you may need to consider if you’re no longer able to care for your loved one without assistance.
Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of at-home care. You can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet your elderly loved one’s unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia.
Alzheimer’s Helpline
Even if your loved one hasn’t been formally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, you can still call the Alzheimer’s helpline for assistance. The helpline is staffed by licensed, caring professionals in the social services industry who have extensive experience in dementia care. They can offer you a large variety of educational materials and caregiving advice to help both you and your loved one manage the challenges of dementia. You can also find out about local and national events where you can learn ways to help your loved one get the most out of his or her golden years.
Dementia can be challenging for seniors to manage, but they can maintain a higher quality of life with the help of professional dementia care. Barrie seniors can benefit greatly from the Cognitive Therapeutics Method (CTM), an activities-based program designed to promote cognitive health and delay the onset of dementia. CTM is included at no additional charge with any of the in-home care plans provided by Home Care Assistance.
Long-Distance Family Members
Family members living far away can schedule appointments for your loved one and speak to healthcare providers on your behalf. They can also pitch in financially and, if possible, plan trips to stay with your loved one for a week or more so you can take some much-needed time off from your caregiving responsibilities. You can also ask long-distance family members to call your loved one a few times a week so he or she can enjoy a leisurely conversation while keeping up with the latest family news.
Seniors can face a variety of age-related challenges. Though some families choose to take on the caregiving duties, there may come a time when they need a trusted Barrie elder care provider. Families sometimes need respite from their duties so they can focus on their other responsibilities, and some seniors need around-the-clock assistance that their families are not able to provide. Home Care Assistance is here to help. To create a customized home care plan for your loved one, call Home Care Assistance at 647-970-3803 today.