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Watching your loved one struggle with cognitive impairment caused by Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia can be hard. You need specialized support for both your family member and yourself. Let Home Instead provide comprehensive Alzheimer's care and dementia care that gives you peace of mind.
Waunakee’s Top Alzheimer's Care Provider
With dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, your loved one becomes more different by the day. They may forget important people or events or have large shifts in their behavior or mood. This can be incredibly taxing on caregivers and family members who may not be prepared for the ways in which these conditions can show up.Home Instead understands the complex social, behavioral, and health needs of seniors with these conditions. Each of our caregivers participates in our exclusive training program and completes multiple assessments to ensure they are able to provide the highest quality Alzheimer's care and dementia care in the Waunakee area.How To Support Your Loved One With Alzheimer’s Or Dementia
Your family member’s diagnosis may come as a shock. As you watch them gradually lose more of their memory and cognitive function, this can shift to anger, frustration, and even heartbreak. You’ll go through many different stages of grief, all of which can feel strange when your loved one is and is not still present.Some things you can do to help your loved one with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease include:Get emotional support for yourself. Consider talking about your feelings regarding the diagnosis with a therapist or qualified counselor. Your emotions
positive and negative – are valid. They deserve to be felt and worked through with professional help. This also helps you develop more patience and compassion toward your loved one, which can help in times of frustration.- Look for available resources. Home Instead is just one source of information and support for your family after a loved one is diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s. There are many other resources you can take advantage of that offer family resources.
- Do what you can to slow the progression of the disease. Things like eating healthy, getting plenty of exercise, improving sleep habits, and quitting smoking may assist in how quickly the condition progresses. This keeps symptoms at bay for longer, allowing your loved one to retain their independence.
- Find helpful hacks. Look for ways you can “hack” your loved one’s memory to help them remember to eat, drink, take their medication, or complete other important daily tasks. For example, a large, colorful medication dispenser in a visible place in the kitchen could catch their eye and make it easier to remember.
- Remove dangers. Dementia also causes memory loss of things that are dangerous or difficulty understanding why something should be avoided. Remove dangers from a seniors immediate environment for their behalf, ideally in a quiet and unnoticeable way like hiding the car keys while your loved one is asleep and pretending to help look for the keys later the next day.
- Celebrate small accomplishments. Your loved one may forget dates, events, or even people and their names, but most people with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease still have a full range of emotion. They likely understand to some degree what’s happening and may feel upset or frustrated by their inability to continue living independently. Celebrate small accomplishments with an aging adult to help them feel like they’re still contributing.