Ten Communication Tips
Several tips on how to better, and more effectively communicate with your loved ones afflicted with Alzheimer’s.
- Make eye contact. Always approach them face-to-face and make eye contact. Use their name if you need to. It is vital that they actually see you and that their attention is focused on you. Read their eyes. Always approach from the front as approaching and speaking from the side or from behind can startle them.
- Be at their level. Move your head to be at the same level as their head. Bend your knees or sit down to reach their level. Do not stand or hover over them – it is intimidating and scary. They can’t focus on you and what you are saying if they are focused on their fear.
- Tell them what you are going to do before you do it. Particularly if you are going to touch them. They need to know what is coming first so that they don’t think that you are grabbing them.
- Speak calmly. Always speak in a calm manner with an upbeat tone of voice, even if you don’t feel that way. If you sound angry or agitated, they will often mirror that feeling back to you and then some.
- Speak slowly. Speak at one half of your normal speed when talking to them. Take a breath between each sentence. They can not process words as fast as non-diseased people can. Give them a chance to catch up to your words.
Read More at Alzheimer’s Reading Room
Alzcare in Texas. Caring help for Alzheimer’s patients in home settings.
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The Essentials
Alzheimer’s Reading Room provides an article on the essentials of Alzheimer’s disease. This includes the immediate and gradual effects, symptoms and a thorough explanation of what having Alzheimer’s often means.
Alzheimer's disease is a an irreversible brain disorder with no known cure. The cause of Alzheimer's disease is not yet known. Alzheimer's disease is always fatal. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, accounting for as much as 70% of all cases of dementia. Age is one of the most important risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. The percentage of persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease doubles every 5 years beyond the age of 65. Women are more likely to develop the disease than men are – in part, because women live longer.
People who have a brother, sister, or parent suffering from Alzheimer's disease have a slightly higher chance of developing the disease. Right now about 3 percent have a proven hereditary link (genetics). Heredity plays a much larger role in early-onset (before age 65) Alzheimer's. About 500,000 Americans suffer from early onset Alzheimer's. The number is growing.
One early sign of Alzheimer's is the inability to balance a checkbook or properly manage finances. Eventually this worsens until a person has trouble recognizing and dealing with numbers. Disorientation is another early sign of Alzheimer's. The inability to drive to and locate familiar places. The inability to find the bathroom in the home of a close friend or relative. Persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease often lose their sense of time, days, dates, and years. They can find themselves lost in familiar surroundings.
Hoarding can be an early sign of Alzheimer's. Continually buying items like toilet paper, tooth paste, shampoo, or salad dressing can be a sign of mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's or dementia. Personality changes can be an early sign of Alzheimer's. Constant worries about money. Accusing others of stealing or people talking about them behind their back are examples.
Read More at Alzheimer’s Reading Room
AlzCare provides quality care and treatment for Alzheimer’s patients in Texas. Our main office is in New Braunfels, close to San Antonio. We also have offices in San Marcos, Victoria, Temple, and Waco.
| | | | | Extra planning needed when travelling with an elderly person
As summer approaches, many people will be vacationing with aging parents or friends. It is such a generous and kind thing to take an aging person on a trip, but a trip with an older friend requires more advanced planning. No one wants to be out of town or on the road and have a vacation spoiled when some unexpected issue arises.
Lynn Wilson, founder of the CareGiver Partnership says:
"Caregiving and family travel both can be highly rewarding, but also have the potential to be stressful," says Lynn Wilson, Founder of The CareGiver Partnership. "Whether you're planning to vacation with a loved one who needs special care – or looking for peace of mind while a loved one stays home – the key words for success are plan, plan, and plan."
Get travel tips and more at Sodalis Elder Living in Texas.
Alzcare provides treatment for Alzheimer’s patients in carefully designed facilities that are renovated homes. Alzheimer’s facilities that care for our friends in tender, personal, caring environments.
| | | | | Mall provides safe walking place for seniors
My daughter learned to walk at our local mall. I used to take here there, set her loose, and let her toddle around. It was safe, there were plenty of things for her to see, and we were in out of the brutal, Texas sun. It was perfect. Many seniors are discovering that the mall is a great place for them to walk and get exercise as well. Malls are well lighted, safe, air-conditioned, there is plenty to see, and refreshments are readily available.
Not all senior citizens can take advantage of expensive health clubs. But a stroll around the mall provides many of the same benefits.
CBS News in Dallas quotes a Harvard medical study that says that 30 minutes of walking a day can reduce the risk of heart disease by as much as 40 percent in seniors.
Many seniors walk around neighborhoods, which is okay. But streets are not always maintained well. It’s easy to fall and be injured in a location where help might not be readily available.
As a leading provider of assisted living for seniors in Sherman Texas, we recommend local malls as a wonderful place for our friends to get their exercise.
Read the rest of this article at Traditions Senior Living and Memory Care in Sherman, Texas.
Alzcare provides treatment for Alzheimer’s patients in carefully designed facilities that are renovated homes. Alzheimer’s facilities that care for our friends in tender, personal, caring environments.
| | | | | The high cost of forgetting
The hidden costs of Alzheimer’s Disease are always surprising. As Alzheimer’s patients feel the worsening effects of this disease, there are obvious medical and housing costs involved. Everyone knows this. People don’t often talk about the underlying emotional costs to the patient, family, and caregivers. And emotional stress always translates into financial need. Whether it be counseling, lost income from lost work time, or added insurance costs, the price of Alzheimer’s Disease is always more than we expect.
Another hidden cost has to do with memory loss. Patients forget spending money or paying bills. In extreme cases. Alzheimer’s patients give money away or hoard it and forget their hiding places. It is astonishing how much money a family can lose when they don’t realize a loved one’s dementia is getting out of control.
Recently the National Alzheimer’s Society of Canada commissioned a study on the financial impact of dementia. As in the United States, Canada is bracing for an onslaught of Alzheimer’s patients in the next two decades. They found that the cost of Dementia is currently running about $15 billion dollars a year. By 2038, this cost will rise to $153 billion unless drastic steps are taken.
In a study commissioned by the national Alzheimer Society, Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society, it was found that over 500,000 Canadians have dementia, 1 in 11 people over the age of 65. According to the study, within a generation, the number of Canadians living with dementia will more than double, reaching approximately 1.1 million.
Using risk assessment evaluation framework created by Risk Analytica, progressing from statistics in 2008, estimations were made decade by decade to the year 2038.
What needs to happen? A number of things are critical:
- Families must watch for signs of dementia and get their loved ones into treatment as soon as possible. Not only can treatment help dementia, just knowing that a loved one is losing touch with reality can save a family thousands of dollars.
- Society is going to have to plan for increased treatment facilities of all kinds.
- Additional research is needed to help us find medications that can slow down the effects of dementia.
The important thing is awareness. And awareness starts with you.
Gordon Atkinson for Alzcare Inc of New Braunfels.
Alzcare provides treatment for Alzheimer’s patients in carefully designed facilities that are renovated homes. Alzheimer’s facilities that care for our friends in tender, personal, caring environments.
Read more about this at the Weekend Telegram of Canada.
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