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Best Gifts for those with Alzheimer’s Dementia

Best Gifts for those with Alzheimer’s dementia

==> This article was written a couple years ago, but it is always in-demand this time of year. So I’ve spruced it up a little and here we have our favorite Holiday List <==

There are many gifts that make a person with Alzheimer’s dementia smile. But the Best gifts for those with Alzheimer’s dementia often depend on the individual personality.

My mom was easy to please when it came to gifts. If I gave her a stack of Oreo Cookies and a glass of milk, her eyes lit up like Christmas.

I don’t know about all folks who have dementia, but most that I’ve known are very affectionate, thankful and easy to please.

My Mom had many inhibitions about affection while my brothers and I were growing up. Hence, ours was not a very affectionate home. I knew my mother loved me, but she wasn’t a person to do a lot of hugging. Something that went far back into her own family roots, I suppose. Still, we always knew she loved us.

But some time during mid-stage Alzheimer’s Mom started hugging. It was almost like some buried inhibition had finally been forgotten and she was free to show the affection that she’d always felt. She did enough hugging and cheek-kissing during those last few years to make up for any lack of affection during the previous 60 years.

So buying gifts for my Mom was easy. She was a pleasant, happy person who loved to stay active. I think personality plays a big part in buying gifts for others, and that includes those with Alzheimer’s dementia.

Mom loved watching TV. She couldn’t follow the story-line of a movie, soap opera, or even half-hour drama. But she loved game shows. She would watch Television game shows all day long if I allowed it.

Some might think that is a lazy way to tend to someone with dementia, having them idly watch television for an hour or two. I’ve heard others say that Movie and TV shows, etc., might be too sedentary for the person with dementia. But–you didn’t know my Mom.

Bob Barker was Mom’s favorite. While she watched Bob Barker and (The Price is Right.) Mom giggled and laughed and clapped her hands. She popped up and down like a “jack in the box.” And Mom was on her feet as much as sitting while she applauded, hooted and squealed for every winner. Television game shows were no sedate activity for my MOM!

Jeopardy! What’s My Line?: T Family Feud The Price Is Right

Other folks may not care for Television and have much more fun with Puzzles and Beads and Blocks. Almost everyone I’ve known with dementia enjoys keeping their hands busy since the fingers have a tendency to “fidget” when not active.

Exactly the name for the quilt in their honor. Here, you can read more about The Fidget Quilt.

Crayola 64 Ct Crayons Secret Garden Adult Coloring Book Ravensburger Ravensburger Fun Fusion Fuse Beads Glass European Beads FlexiBlox Fidget

When Mom finally went into a Group Home with 9 other ladies, I’m telling you, those women would fight over laundry. I’m not kidding. The Group Home was a regular style home renovated to serve the needs of all these sweet ladies. It was located in a residential neighborhood near my own home. So I was able to visit whenever I liked.

In the afternoons, the staff would do laundry and bring the heaping baskets filled with towels and sheets and other linens to the Television room. An uproar ensued at this time every day. “You got towels yesterday, it’s my turn.” “No, it’s my turn.” “I don’t want those fitted sheets, I want the flat ones!” and on it would go as they argued about folding towels or anything else those baskets offered. The ladies loved folding! sheets, blankets, clothes– they loved folding.

Apple iPod touch G.G.Martinsen Sleep Soundly Effortless Relaxation

All the older folks I’ve known have a love of music. They especially like music that was popular from their own generation. Truthfully, I can understand that. I still enjoy the 50’s rock and roll myself. Music brings happiness and joy and memories of youth.

In later stages comfort is often the most necessary item. Soft house-shoes, a fluffy warm robe, soft music, a gentle foot rub. When that time comes, comfort is every bit as important as any activity or pleasure they found in earlier times.

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I hope you and your loved ones enjoy Fall and all the Holiday Season ahead. After a little forethought, you’ll know exactly what gift your loved one will enjoy most!

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Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s

04/232 Comments

Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s in your home

It can be a difficult and potentially over-whelming task

It is surprisingly common and understandable to want to care for a parent or loved one with Alzheimer’s at home. The comfort of a known environment and the love that can be given are decisive factors.

Dealing with someone with Alzheimer’s means adapting daily to changing needs and abilities.
What was once second nature can either gradually or instantly be forgotten and assistance can be required with regular activities such as dressing or eating.

This can place the caregiver under a large amount of stress which is increased when the person with Alzheimer’s begins to display abnormal personality traits. Previously contented people can become agitated easily and often wander away or experience hallucinations. Caring for people with Alzheimer’s is a full time job in itself.

The best way to cope

A plan is essential. Every day should involve a pre-determined routine and a plan for the various activities that will be necessary – whether a trip to the shops or the doctors. It is also important to think ahead and plan for things that might happen ahead of time, what to do when things go wrong and to create a back-up plan.

Another useful approach is to consider in advance the best way of dealing with any particularly difficult traits or behavioral patterns which are developing. It is a certainty that each day will hold a certain level of stress and a caregiver needs to know how to both handle these situations and to de-stress themselves.

It is also important to remember that the patient is still a person and that there are no specific rules for dealing with that person. Everyone is different and the disease reacts different in every case. The only way of dealing with it is to take each day as it comes and cope the best way you can. There are several things which can assist with this:

Developing traits
It is common for a person with Alzheimer’s to be much more coherent and more co-operative at roughly the same time each day. If this is the case then this can be the best opportunity to talk to them or to do chores which distract you from the pressure of constantly watching over them. As the disease progresses it is likely that their traits will change and you will need to rethink your approach many times. Be patient and try not to lose your temper if you notice that your loved one can’t understand what you’re trying to say.

Communicating with your loved one
As the persons illness progresses it can become more difficult for them to understand you as well as you to understand what they are trying to tell you.

• The best method to minimize the stress of this is to keep your sentences short and simple – always using a calm voice. The patient is still a person and it is never advisable to talk down to them, no matter how frustrating the situation may be.
• It is also essential to turn off the TV or radio when trying to talk. A lack of distractions will maximize your chances of understanding each other.
• Just as before they were ill be certain to call them by name and make eye contact – the emphasis is on obtaining their attention and focus before starting a conversation.
• A person with Alzheimer’s may take longer to gather their thoughts and words when talking. It may be frustrating but it is important to allow them the opportunity to reply to your question and not to interrupt them while they are doing so.
• Tact is essential. Some words may elude the person with Alzheimer’s and this will be a source of frustration to them. Gently encourage them or prompt them with the right word to allow them the dignity of finishing their sentence.
• All questions and concerns should be phrased in a positive way. Someone with memory loss can feel trapped and negative questions and responses will increase their chance of depression.

Your parent is still a person even if you can only see a hint of who they once were. Always try to listen and address their concerns, no matter how hard they are to understand. Caring for an aging parent with Alzheimer’s is an overwhelming task; but it’s not something impossible to do provided that you get to know the illness and understand the manifestation of its side effects.

Author : Edward Francis and Foresthc.com!

Diagnosing and Treating Elderly Alzheimer’s

04/081 Comment

Dealing with Disability: Diagnosing and Treating Elderly Alzheimer’s

As one of the top 10 causes of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s disproportionately affects the elderly and over five million Americans are affected by the disease. “Alzheimer’s is the only top 10 American cause of death that cannot be slowed, cured or prevented, and one out of three elderly Americans dies from Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia,” states the Alzheimer’s Association. Given these dire statistics, providing seniors with proper Alzheimer’s care and treatment is essential.

When dealing with Alzheimer’s, it is imperative to diagnose Alzheimer’s early, and most importantly, accurately. This way, you can treat all of the Alzheimer’s symptoms such as memory loss and behavioral issues as effectively as possible. The following article provides essential tips on assessing, diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s in the elderly.

The Importance of an Early, and Accurate Diagnosis

Although Alzheimer’s is a dire disease, it can be diagnosed and treated. A diagnosis can now be performed with more than 90 percent accuracy, and if Alzheimer’s is diagnosed early, patients have the time to make informed decisions and plan for the future effectively.

While an early diagnosis is certainly essential, an accurate diagnosis is just as important. An estimated 600,000 Americans have been misdiagnosed as having dementia, but in actuality they have an Alzheimer’s sub-type. This sub-type manifests in such a way that patients still have a near normal memory, and this causes doctors to misdiagnose them as having a form of dementia since Alzheimer’s patients typically suffer from memory loss.

Based on this study, patients with irritable outbursts and behavioral issues are not precluded from having Alzheimer’s simply because they do not have memory loss. As such, it is essential to keep in mind that your loved ones may have an Alzheimer’s sub-type even if they do not demonstrate symptoms of memory loss.

Alleviating Memory Loss Symptoms with Medication

Although memory loss itself cannot be slowed or prevented with medication, you can alleviate the symptoms. The FDA has approved two types of drugs for these purposes: cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine. Only cholinesterase inhibitors are used in the early to moderate stages of Alzheimer’s, whereas memantine is used for moderate to severe Alzheimer’s.

In some severe cases, doctors will prescribe both at once. Delaying the worsening of symptoms makes medication worth it for many patients, although some side effect may be observed. Headaches, constipation, confusion, dizziness and nausea may result after using inhibitors or memantine, but delaying the effects of this cruel disease is worth it for most seniors.

Treatment Options for Behavioral Issues

For many Alzheimer’s patients and families of patients, it is the behavioral changes that are the most trying part of coping with Alzheimer’s. When initially treating behavioral symptoms and issues, avoid medication if you can. Instead, begin by taking steps to reinforce emotional comfort, or hire professionals or assisted living centers that are more equipped to do so. To this end, you may wish to rearrange or changing the patient’s environment to aid in this transition. Giving the patients adequate rest, consistently monitoring their comfort and avoiding confrontation are all great ways to treat behavioral issues without medication.

If all else fails, you may need to treat the issues with medication. However, it is essential to note that no drugs are approved by the FDA to treat behavioral symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s, though some medications have been determined to help behavioral outbursts.

As you might expect, behavioral issues stemming from Alzheimer’s become taxing on families, so an assisted living center is often the best way to provide proper care for seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s-induced irritability, anxiety or depression.

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Guest post from:

Assisted Living Center is a Senior Living Directory dedicated to providing assistance to anyone with questions or concerns regarding living and care options for themselves or a loved one.

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The Last Day Mom Remembered Everyone

01/07Leave a Comment

The Last Day Mom Remembered everyone

Mom had been deep into late-stage Alzheimer’s for a couple years before necessity forced us to move her to a Group-Home. She was only a few blocks away so I visited almost daily. Mom ate fairly well and enjoyed family visits though she no longer recognized any of us by name but rather knew us as good friends.

Living in nice surroundings and of good physical health, we assumed Mom might be with us for a long while yet.

We were startled to learn that her days were numbered after a recurrent cough and bout with the flu required a hospital visit. During that week, Mom was diagnosed with both lung and thyroid cancer and our world with Alzheimer’s totally changed

Mom had never smoked a day in her life and took excellent care of her health. Other than the slow erosion of her memory, she had always been healthy. The “slow” part was gone now and suddenly we were told that Mom could be gone within weeks. It was devastating news for her entire family.

The transition was abrupt. Mom’s quiet room was suddenly filled with coughing and arguing as Mom wrestles the oxygen tube like a coiling snake. As fast as we settle the cannula in her nose, she removes it again, then gasps for air. She can’t remember she needs oxygen nor that the tube is the delivery system.

Sedation is required and Mom does not take it well. She doesn’t understand all the chaos around her; a noisy oxygen concentrator churning with a continuous thump thump thud, plastic tubes poking her nose and squeezing her cheeks, more hovering nurses than she’s ever seen before (a new team from hospice) changing her clothes, washing her face, rubbing her hands, moving furniture to make room for more medical equipment.

I wanted to scream or cry or do something to make it all stop! Leave Mom alone! But I didn’t and it continued through the first week.

During the second week, my niece requested to bring her two young sons, 3 and 5 years old (Mom’s great grandchildren) to visit. Mom hadn’t recognized my niece when she visited in the hospital, nor had Mom seen the boys for many many months. I could hardly say ‘no,’ but issued a warning to have the children prepared that Mom would not know them due to her illness. I was afraid the boys would be heartbroken.

Mom no longer recognized family members and believed us all to be nice people who visited her. So I was astounded when my Niece called me the following day.

“It was so wonderful,” she said. “Grandma played with the boys and reminded them of things they’d done together.”

“She remembered them?” I asked, astounded by that news.

“Yes, “ my niece went on, “She knew all of us. Talked about her apartment and going home and when was the new baby due and was it a girl. She called me by name and dad by name and knew all of us. Just like a regular conversation.”

I really thought she was teasing me until I spoke with my brother the next day and learned it was all true. Mom had an entire afternoon of being herself. She knew everyone, relatives, nurses’ names, her friend’s name, (which she never used.) It was quite stunning.

My first thought was that Mom had made a miraculous recovery from everything; Alzheimer’s, lung caner and thyroid cancer, but it was not to be. Mom passed away late into the evening two days later.

I’d heard of such “awakenings” by folks with Alzheimer’s or dementia, but never quite believed until– it happened to our family.

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Recalling Our Own Stories: Spiritual Renewal for Religious Caregivers A Bamboo Grove for the Soul: A Storybook of Spiritual Resources for Caregivers The Caregiver: Families of Honor, Book One A Caregiver’s Divine Choice: Spiritual Warfare with Alzheimer’s Peculiarities The Helping Professional’s Guide

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Things to know while Easing the Transition to Elder Care

03/064 Comments

Things to Know While Easing the Transition to Elder Care

Easing the transition to Elder Care for a loved one can be daunting. Getting old is inevitable. Some elderly people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. This is the progressive decline of cognitive function such as language, behavior, judgement, emotions and our ability to function with complex tasks. Once this disease progresses with an aging loved one, there is often need to assist them in their everyday lives.

However difficult it may be, placing your loved one in an elder care facility may be the best thing that you can do for them. This is especially true if their needs require medical professionals . A few other reasons an elderly loved one may be better off in assisted living are the following:

Health issues for the elderly person or for other family members – stress and health conditions can take its toll if you’re a caregiver.
Behavioral changes and adjusting may become a problem. The ill and elderly may tend to be irritable, aggressive, sensitive, and slow. This can test a caregivers patience and understanding.
In assisted living or nursing home, proper medical care can be provided quickly.
In your own home, time and work may be compromised. Difficulties arise when you have few or no volunteers to help with an aging loved one while you are away at work.
However harsh it may sound, during current financial times, many find it difficult to leave their job to care full-time for a loved one.
Caring for an aging loved one at home, especially suffering from dementia, will be 24/7 and near impossible without support from family or friends.

Before transitioning your aging loved one into an elderly facility, seek advice from your family and the family doctor.

Transitioning is not easy for your aging loved one nor for all in the family; and whatever additional services are needed, should be already accessible or prepared.

Part of the easy transition should include making a list of the needed care before going into the facility such as:

Diet
Daily or routine activities
Medical needs
Hobbies or recreational activities
Visitations from families and friends
Other special provisions

The change of environment may cause stress to your aging loved one because there will be new faces and different surroundings than they are used to. People suffering from dementia can become easily confused and frightened.

The best way to encourage them to accept this transition is by exposing them gradually into the new home, and to fill their new room with old and familiar items to make them feel comfortable.

Another suggestion might be to have a member of the family stay or visit often as your loved one tries to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings. Having support from a loved one while they adapt to the new surroundings can mean a lot and allows a more easy transition to the new place.

Some elder facilities offer a “buddy system” that would allow a family member to stay there until their resident becomes familiar with their new home.

And other facilities prefer that family postpone any visitation for several days to a week. Sometimes the elder person will adapt to the home more quickly if they don’t have a loved one nearby.

Be Prepared. Chose a home that listens to your feelings. Keep communication easy and open for everyone involved in the transition and the move will go fine.

Author: Jesse Waugh is a veteran writer with over 8 years of writing and proofreading experience. Jesse has a solid understanding of content marketing and can deliver high-quality, targeted contents for any topics or niche of interest that includes health, health aged care, respite care and more.

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A few “comforts” to help your loved one ease into Assisted Care

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