The challenges that dementia creates for your senior might be frustrating for both of you. By shifting your perspective on some things and adjusting how you handle some situations, you might find that you can both get through the day a little easier.

Help Her to Check in with What’s Happening Around Her

Your senior is likely to be in her own world a bit more with dementia than she used to be. This can make it difficult for her to keep up with what’s going on around her. Offering her ways to remain connected, or at least to check in, with what’s happening can help her to feel a little more secure. Notes on the counter about what day it is and what might be happening that day can help because they’re something she can refer back to throughout the day. Gentle reminders throughout the day as you talk with her can help, too.

Work out a Schedule for Her
Routines and schedules are incredibly reassuring for seniors with dementia. There are going to be times of the day that are suited for certain activities and that are not suited for others. It’s also a good idea to schedule meals, because that helps your senior to learn to expect to eat at those times. Even if she doesn’t remember that she needs to eat, her body might prompt her with hunger cues.

Give Her Space and Patience
Having a tight schedule and knowing that other people are impatient or are crowding her, either literally or otherwise, can make simple tasks so much more complicated for your senior. It’s best to give her as much space and patience as you can muster. That’s not always possible, of course, but remembering that rushing her isn’t likely to give you the results that you want is important. It helps if you can remember to put space and patience in your schedule from the beginning.

Simplify Your Senior’s Life
Keeping your senior safe and happy are two of your highest priorities as her caregiver, but sometimes those two goals might seem as if they’re incompatible. You might have to secure some of the items in your elderly family member’s kitchen, like sharp knives or cleaning supplies. Although necessary, your senior might feel as if you’re singling her out. Instead of leaving an empty, obvious knife block on the counter, try putting the entire block in a cabinet that you can lock.

It isn’t easy to keep up with all that your elderly family member needs while battling dementia and other health issues. One solution that can help immensely is to hire elder care providers who can make the process so much easier on both of you.

Excerpt: Dealing with dementia can take a lot out of both you and your senior.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Elder Care in Greenville,SC, contact Heart of the Carolinas Home Care at 864-991-3116. Providing Home Care Services in Greenville, Simpsonville, Greer, Anderson, Spartanburg, Mauldin, Seneca, Laurens,Charleston, Columbia and the surrounding areas

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Edward Harrison

Founder at Heart of the Carolinas

Edward Harrison founded the Heart of the Carolinas Homecare in 2007 when he saw there was a need for caregivers that provide non-medical home care services, at a price that most people could afford. It was standard in the industry to require hourly minimums and it was common to be assigned a caregiver, not matched with one based on your individual personal needs. Edward understood that to make a successful relationship between caregiver and client, skills were not enough, personality and compatibility plays as much a role as do skills.

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