Unfortunately, when your senior loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s you may notice some behavioral changes that are challenging to handle. It can be hard to navigate these changes as the disease progresses and it’s important to not only give yourself grace but also give grace and acceptance to your elderly mom or dad. They may not be aware of their changes and they may not understand your reactions to them. Here are some of the best ways to not only handle any changes but also ways to cope best for adult children.
Hire Senior Home Care
The truth is it can be exceptionally hard to provide care for a senior who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This disease will progress, their memories will get worse, and behavioral changes can seem drastic. This is usually super hard for adult children to understand and it can be better and less stressful to hire senior home care to help. This does not mean you will no longer be a caregiver, it just means you offload some of the responsibilities and can focus on other things. Your relationship can thrive and things can be healthier when you have the help of senior home care. It’s time to think about getting help now before things become drastic.
Choose To Be Positive
Alheimer’s is a scary disease and a senior can easily act out or become angry. However, when you start to use positive reinforcement for good behaviors it will help them learn what behaviors are appropriate and which are not. This means that all good behaviors or reactions that are appropriate will become more repetitive over the bad behaviors. You can use positive reinforcements by providing words of affirmation, fun activities, or even treats if that works. Every senior is different and positive reinforcements will look different to everyone.
Establishing Routine
A senior who does the same thing every day will get into the habit of doing things when they need to but they may not even know it. You may find your seniors are so in tune with their routine that even when they don’t remember something they just start doing it out of muscle memory. Senior home care will really help a family focus on developing a healthy routine which is perfect for seniors who are suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Address Behaviors
You will want to be sensitive to your loved one’s diagnosis but you also need to address bad behaviors. If your loved one is angry, fearful, or sad it may stem from being frustrated. If you are not addressing what is causing these emotions then they will get more sad or more angry. This means you need to pay attention to what they are doing before any outbursts happen and this can actually be hard when you have so much to watch for already. This is why senior home care can be a huge bonus for families caring for seniors. These professionals can help watch what is going on and address specific problems a senior may be having. They can be the voice when a senior does not have one.