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Tips for the Holidays when someone has Alzheimer’s

12/05Leave a Comment

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Tips for the Holidays

A few Tips for the Holiday from the Alzheimer’s Association

The person with Alzheimer’s doesn’t always have a joyful experience when the Holiday Season arrives. They view flashing lights, bustling crowds and a noisy shopping mall with fear. Large parties with lots of people can be frightening.

The Alzheimer’s Association presents the “Lunch and Learn” program in many cities to help those with family members who have Alzheimer’s dementia or other memory loss issues to cope during this time of year.

If you have a loved one who has dementia, here are a few hints and tips for a happier holiday season from one of the Alzheimer’s Association‘s programs in Illinois.

Alzheimer’s Association program tips for surviving the holiday season –Quincy Herald Whig

“The program addresses the feelings, challenges, expectations and exhaustion brought on by the traditional celebration of the holidays,” said Janet Veach of the Central Illinois Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Veach goes on to say…

“If the person is in the middle or late stages of Alzheimer’s, there might be significant changes in cognitive abilities since the last time an out-of-town friend or relative visited. ”

“These changes can be hard to accept,” Veach said. “Make sure visitors understand that changes in behavior and memory are caused by the disease and not the person. You may find this easier to share changes in a letter or e-mail that can be sent to multiple recipients ahead of time.”

Allow family and friends to know ahead of time that the person with dementia may find it difficult to follow a conversation helps everyone feel more at ease.

One of the first things my brother noticed about Mom, long before she was diagnosed, was that she couldn’t follow a conversation. At a family gathering, he had tried and tried to have a conversation with her. Yet, it soon became obvious that she did not understand what he was saying.

Since Mom was thinking much slower than my brother was speaking, it was difficult for her, with dementia, to keep up with a casual conversation.

If you know someone has Alzheimer’s or dementia and is a little slower at comprehending speech, you might slow your pace while having a conversation. The person with dementia may listen and converse quite well if you slow the conversation.

On the other hand, if you rush to finish their sentences for them, the memory impaired person may feel that they’re being treated like a child. It’s much better to be patient, and allow them time to find the right words to listen and to speak.

“Building on past traditions and memories can be important at this time of the year”, Veach said. “Focus on activities that are meaningful to the person with dementia,” she said. “Your family member may find comfort in singing old holiday songs or looking through old photo albums. Involve the person in holiday preparation.“

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Engage and support the elderly with advanced neurological conditions like Brain stroke, TIA, Alzheimer, Dementia, Aphasia…. 

There are so many things the person with Alzheimer’s  can still do for many years. They may be slower, as with conversations, but with patience they may still be a valued and active member of your family for many years to come.

<< If an older tradition no longer works well for your family, create a new traditions that includes your loved one! >>

A new and exciting support tool for those with early dementia is the ECHO from Amazon. I wish my Mom had had this tool. She forgot how to operate her television at an early stage and changing channels for her became a constant. Their are many many other things the Echo can do for you. Turn lights on and off, answer the phone, etc. I heard one gentlemen with Parkinson’s say that it had improved his speech. Since the Echo obeys verbal commands, he was forced to be more precise with his words.

  • Plays all your music from Prime Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and more using just your voice
  • Fills the room with immersive, 360º omni-directional audio
  • Allows hands-free convenience with voice-control
  • Hears you from across the room with far-field voice recognition, even while music is playing
  • Answers questions, reads audiobooks and the news, reports traffic and weather, gives info on local businesses, provides sports scores and schedules, and more using the Alexa Voice Service
  • Controls lights, switches, and thermostats with compatible WeMo, Philips Hue, Samsung SmartThings, Wink, Insteon, Nest, and ecobee smart home devices
  • Always getting smarter and adding new features, plus thousands of skills like Uber, Domino’s, and more

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Filed Under: Care Tips, The Caregiver Tagged With: conversation, dementia holidays, dementia noise, fear, holiday, noise

Have a Happy Holiday and Share lots of Love with Friends and Family

11/28Leave a Comment

Have a Happy Holiday with Friends and Family

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One thing about life is that it never stays the same. We make adjustments everyday for the annoying things that happen in our life. By nature, we’re resilient!

Since my COPD is a little worse this year, I can  no longer set my oven above 350 degrees. For days I’ve been distraught about creating a holiday dinner without an hot oven! That’s part of the tradition; baking a wonderful meal for friends and family on Thanks Giving day.

Forced to purchase cakes, pies, dressing and a few other items pre-cooked instead has been downright depressing. A NEW TRADITION that I didn’t quite care for. Then…

As Thanksgiving morning arrived, instead of mixing and baking and sweating over the oven, I was mixing it up with laughing grandchildren and joining a robust family argument about the day’s football games! I must admit– New Traditions can be a Good Thing!

HAVE A SUPER HOLIDAY WEEKEND * SHARE LOVE AND FUN WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY * Don’t be afraid to make New Traditions in your family!

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Filed Under: Holidays Tagged With: caregiving, holiday, new traditions, traditions

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