Four Facts to Remember Right After a Dementia Diagnosis
Hearing that your elderly family member has dementia can be a really scary rush of different emotions. Your senior is likely experiencing a lot of the same feelings. Having a plan to help her to manage what’s happening now and what’s likely to happen in the future is vital.
Put Safety at the Top of the List
Safety is always the biggest concern when you’re caring for an aging family member, but it’s especially important now that you know she’s dealing with dementia. Look for ways to ensure that your senior is safe at home, both in terms of physical safety and in terms of feeling confident that she’s able to still care for herself the way she needs to. As her situation changes, that safety plan may also change.
Start Working with Home Care Services Now
It may be important for you to start looking into working with home care providers on a regular basis. This can be important because if you wait too long, your elderly family member may be more resistant to the idea. Also, home care providers can help your elderly family member to adjust to her new situation and to have help available, if she should need it at some point.
Check in with Your Senior about What She Wants
Talk to your senior now about what she wants her life to be like down the road. Understanding her wishes and her hopes now enables you to make the right decisions later when she may not be as able to help you to solve problems and to answer questions. Having this talk now can help your elderly family member to feel less as if her life is out of her control now.
Help Her Retain Her Autonomy
There’s still a lot that your senior may be able to do for herself. The temptation for you might be to step in and take over a lot of different tasks for her to make life easier. But if she’s still capable, you may actually be causing her to lose certain skills and abilities more quickly than she would have. Give her the opportunity to continue to do what she wants to do and is able to do, but make sure that she knows that all she needs to do is to ask for help and it’s there for her.
You’ll both need to learn a lot about what the new normal is for your senior after her dementia diagnosis, but with a plan in place you’ll have a path to follow.
If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in South River, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Care Street Home Care today. Call (732) 607-8870.
The Care Street mission is straightforward and compelling: to provide a comprehensive range of the highest quality home health services in a professional and efficient manner that will enhance our clients' quality of life and empower families to keep their loved one at home.
Care Street has earned a reputation of excellence among hundreds of families, and is recommended by medical professionals and hospital discharge planners throughout the State.
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