What To Do If A Loved One Is Suspicious Of Having Dementia
- Discuss with loved one. Talk about seeing a medical provider about the observed changes soon. Talk about the issue of driving and always carrying an ID.
- Medical assessment. Be with a provider that you are comfortable with. Ask about the Medicare Annual Wellness exam.
- Family Meeting. Start planning, and gather documents like the Health Care Directive, Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, Estate Plan.
Behavioural Therapy For Dementia
Behavioural therapy works to understand the source of the behaviour, and then suggest alternative strategies to address the underlying cause.
For example, a person with dementia may have a history of wandering out of their home because they feel restless. Therefore, encouraging such people to find another outlet for their restlessness, such as regular physical activity, might address the problematic behaviour.
Behavioural therapy is not a solution to the many behavioural problems associated with dementia , but it is a useful tool in lessening their impact. Behavioural therapy is supervised by a healthcare professional, but can often be given by a trained friend or relative, usually the main family carer.
As in all treatments for any disease, everyone is different and reacts differently results can vary by day or even parts of days. It is, therefore, important to keep checking in with the medical team if you notice any changes in your parents behaviour. It may be possible to change the dementia drugs or try a new dementia therapy to support their condition as it progresses.
To help make sure you know what to look out for, weve put together a list of the most common early signs of dementia, which you can take a look at in more detail. You can also download our free guide to dementia for information on diagnosis, legal considerations and support available.
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Daily Tasks To Treat The Physical Impairments Of Dementia
So much of dementia is taking away cognitive function in the brain, which makes for poor memory and day-to-day tasks that many of us take for granted.
Things like brushing your teeth, getting dressed, or even turning a doorknob can become arduous if not impossible for elderly dementia patients. Luckily, there are some ways to incorporate physical therapy into fun games or puzzles that can be enjoyed while benefiting the patient.
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Foods That Can Fight Dementia And Alzheimers Disease
Dementia and Alzheimers disease are thought to be caused by a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors including diet and nutrition. Health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity may also contribute to cognitive decline, and are often affected by the foods you eat. Practicing good nutrition and eating lots of healthy foods is shown to help reduce your risk of dementia and Alzheimers disease as you become older.
Here are 7 foods that can fight off cognitive decline and help you stay healthy as you age:
Exercise And Physical Activity
Exercise and physical activity can have lots of benefits for people with dementia. It can help regulate their sleep and prevent restlessness and sleeplessness in the evening. It can also help maintain a positive mood and lower the risk of them developing depression.
Physical activities may include:
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Walking around their neighbourhood or a local park
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Depending on age and fitness, you could try tandem biking
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Water aerobics health and fitness centres often have workshops and classes specifically for elderly people or people with dementia
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Crochet Knitting Or Other Crafts
Did your loved ones once love to crochet or knit before the onset of dementia or Alzheimers? Try placing their knitting needles and ball of yarn in their handsit might just trigger a memory or even muscle memory. Yes, muscle memory is a real thing, and we have marveled at its effectiveness in memory patients.
Exercise That Doesnt Feel Like Exercise
Exercise is any physical activity that raises the heart rate. Suggestions for activities that dont feel like structured exercise include:
- dancing seniors clubs often include dancing parties in their social calendar. If the person with dementia doesnt know how to dance, simple dances such as square dancing can be learned and enjoyed, as long as their partner can take the lead
- gardening raking and mowing the lawn are good forms of exercise. Make sure you are on hand to help if required
- housework such as vacuuming and folding laundry. Most people with Alzheimers disease can continue to perform certain types of housework if they are supervised.
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Encourage An Emotional Connection
For many people with dementia, a sense of movement and rhythm is often retained. Listening to music, dancing, or contact with babies, children or animals provide positive feelings. People with dementia often have excellent memories of past events, and looking through old photos, memorabilia and books can help the person to recall earlier times.The opportunity to relive treasured moments can be deeply satisfying. If reading skills have deteriorated, make recordings for them. Locate picture books and magazines in the persons areas of interest.
Check Hearing And Vision
Seeing and hearing properly are especially important for someone with dementia. Trouble seeing can make it harder to recognize familiar people or things. Vision or hearing problems can also make dementia symptoms like confusion worse as well as make your loved one feel more alone.
Schedule a vision checkup with your loved oneâs eye doctor to see if they need a new eyeglass prescription. Also, ask their primary doctor to refer you to a doctor who can do a hearing test to give them a new hearing aid, if needed.
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What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Dementia
Because dementia is a general term, its symptoms can vary widely from person to person. People with dementia have problems with:
- Reasoning, judgment, and problem solving
- Visual perception beyond typical age-related changes in vision
Signs that may point to dementia include:
- Getting lost in a familiar neighborhood
- Using unusual words to refer to familiar objects
- Forgetting the name of a close family member or friend
- Forgetting old memories
- Not being able to complete tasks independently
Get Expert Guidance To Care For Family Or A Friend With Dementia
Caring for a loved one with Dementia can be overwhelming, but you don’t need to do it alone.
Feel confident as a caregiver and rewarded for the care you provide. Learn how you can create a path forward with expert guidance and a supportive community of other people who care for family or a friend in the home.
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Planning For The Future
- Talk to the person with dementia to make sure that they have a current up-to-date will that reflects their wishes.
- Encourage the person with dementia to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney so that a responsible person can make decisions on their behalf when they are no longer able to.
- Talk to the person with dementia about making an advance decision to refuse certain types of medical treatment in certain situations. It will only be used when the person with dementia has lost the capacity to make or communicate the decision in the future.
- If the person youre caring for has already lost the ability to make or communicate decisions but doesnt have an LPA, you can apply to the Court of Protection who can make decisions on behalf of that person or appoint someone else to do so.
If the person you care for drives, the law requires them to tell DVLA about their diagnosis. A diagnosis of dementia doesn’t automatically mean someone has to stop driving straight away what matters is that they can drive safely.
Who Are These Medications For And What Are The Benefits
These medications are prescribed for people with mild to moderate Alzheimers disease. Studies show that between 40 70% of people taking the drugs benefit from them with symptoms improving temporarily for between 6-12 months.
The impact of taking cholinesterase inhibitor medications can include: reduced anxiety, improvements in memory and concentration daily activities such as personal care, dressing and shopping.
Trials to determine if these drugs also bring benefits for behavioural changes such as agitation or aggression are inconclusive, with mixed results. Unfortunately the impact of these medications gradually reduces with symptoms then gradually worsening.
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What You Should Know About Dementia
According to Dementia Organisation, Australia there are currently 487,500 Australians living with the dementia. Without a medical breakthrough, this number is expected to triple by 2058.
Whats astonishing is, dementia can affect anyone regardless of age or gender.
As of the first quarter of 2022, there are 28,800 people with younger onset dementia. Yet, this figure is expected to continue rising to 29,350 after five years, standing at more than 40,000 by 2050 and beyond.
Researchers at Griffith University in Queensland found that of those living with dementia, many do not participate in activities such as exercise groups or music classes. These are the activities that have been proven to reverse cognitive decline.
On the same note, it is estimated that by the end of 2022, there would be almost 1.6 million individuals living in Australia involved in the care of persons with this condition.
Before you despair, here is the good news: having surveyed several said caregivers, these researchers at Griffith had came out with this that those who took part in these activities had better outcomes than those who did not.
It therefore raises an important question: how can we keep dementia patients engaged in their daily lives?
Fun Activities For Elderly Dementia Patients
If you’re looking for activities for dementia patients, we have you covered!
Weve assembled a wide range of activities, including:
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Sensory activities for dementia patients
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Creative activities for dementia patients
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Group activities for dementia patients and
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Cognitive activities for dementia patients
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Activities Must Be Stimulating
It’s important that dementia patients stay active physically and mentally as much as they are able. This is why youll want to choose activities that stimulate your loved one’s mind and senses.
A great way to do this is to keep an eye out for things that your loved one loves to do or things that they enjoyed in the past. For example, if they had always owned a dog, they may find pleasure in having a stuffed dog to pet and care for.
Engage your loved one in conversation. If they’re unable to respond, you can give them a play-by-play account of what you are doing. For example, talk with them about the steps you’re taking to prepare the meal or describe the dish you are drying. Even if the person is unable to respond, they will benefit from hearing your voice.
Encourage your loved one to be involved in daily life, with activities such as setting the table or folding laundry. This will help them feel a sense of accomplishment and success.
Are you considering memory care for your loved one who is suffering from dementia? Senior Services of America can help. Our years of experience and extensive knowledge direct you to the senior community that will best meet the unique needs of your loved one.
Stage : Moderately Severe Dementia
When the patient begins to forget the names of their children, spouse, or primary caregivers, they are most likely entering stage 6 of dementia and will need full time care. In the sixth stage, patients are generally unaware of their surroundings, cannot recall recent events, and have skewed memories of their personal past. Caregivers and loved ones should watch for:
- Delusional behavior
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Tips For Choosing The Right Activities For Dementia Patients
Caregiving In The Late Stages Of Alzheimers Or Dementia
As Alzheimers or another dementia reaches the late stages, your loved one will likely require 24-hour care. They may be unable to walk or handle any personal care, have difficulty eating, be vulnerable to infections, and no longer able to express their needs. Problems with incontinence, mood, hallucinations, and delirium are also very common.
In your role as caregiver, youll likely be combining these new challenges with managing painful feelings of grief and loss and making difficult end-of-life decisions. You may even be experiencing relief that your loved ones long struggle is drawing to an end, or guilt that youve somehow failed as a caregiver. As at the other stages of your caregiving journey, its important to give yourself time to adjust, grieve your losses, and gain acceptance.
Since the caregiving demands are so extensive in the later stages, it may no longer be possible for you to provide the necessary care for your loved one alone. If the patient needs total support for routine activities such as bathing, dressing, or turning, you may not be strong enough to handle them on your own. Or you may feel that youre unable to ease their pain or make them as comfortable youd like. In such cases, you may want to consider moving them to a care facility such as a nursing home, where they can receive high levels of both custodial and medical care.
Connecting in the late stages of care
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Planning Activities For People With Dementia
Understanding the person with dementia will help you to plan appropriate activities for them. This means knowing the persons former lifestyle, work history, hobbies, recreational and social interests, past travel experience and significant life events.Try not to overstimulate the person with dementia. Be selective with outings. Avoid crowds, constant movement and noise, which many people with dementia find overwhelming.It can be helpful to write out an activities care plan if different people are caring for the person. This will help make sure that the activities are consistent and are suited to the needs of the person with dementia.
Cope With Changes In Communication
As your loved ones Alzheimers or dementia progresses, youll notice changes in how they communicate. They may have trouble finding words, substitute one word for another, repeat the same things over and over, or become easily confused. Increased hand gestures, losing their train of thought, and even inappropriate outbursts are all common as well.
Even if your loved one has trouble maintaining a conversationor less interest in starting oneits important to encourage social interaction. Making them feel safe rather than stressed will make communication easier, so try to manage your own frustration levels.
Be patient. If your loved one has difficulty recalling a word, for example, allow them time. Getting anxious or impatient will only inhibit their recall. Gently supply the word or tell the person that you can come back to it later.
Be aware of your body language. Your loved one responds to your facial expression, tone of voice, and nonverbal cues as much as the words you choose. Make eye contact, stay calm, and keep a relaxed, open posture.
Speak slowly and clearly. Give one direction or ask one question at a time, use short sentences, and give your loved one more time to process whats being said. Find a simpler way to say the same thing if it wasnt understood the first time.
Maintain respect. Dont use patronizing language, baby talk, or sarcasm. It can cause hurt or confusion.
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Nordictrack T Series Treadmill
As Dr. Fredericks noted, exercise is a great way to keep dementia at bay while providing physical and mental stimulation. While there’s a lot of smart workout equipment on the market, you might want to consider shying away from anything that might be overstimulating, as it could be frustrating and difficult to operate for someone suffering from dementia. This incredibly highly rated treadmill from NordicTrack is one of the easiest treadmills to operate, allowing them options to increase or decrease speed as well as incline, and offering multiple types of workouts with the touch of a button.
Can I Care For My Loved One At Home Through All Stages Of Dementia
Home care is often recommended by experts through end of life. However, every family and situation is different, so permanent home care may not always be possible.
Research shows keeping a loved one with dementia at home helps them be happier and live longer however, it is most impactful when introduced early. Its a preventive model to educate the family to be dementia smart and understand the disease progression and triggers down the road, Havrilla explains. But if the family is not able to give their loved one the care they need, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes and assisted living residences are good alternatives.
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