Alzheimer’s Care Guide for Families

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Tips for Families Caring for Loved Ones with Alzheimer in Toronto, ON

A daily care guide can ease your family’s caregiving challenges, and it could make living with Alzheimer’s disease easier for your senior parent. A proper care plan can reduce the chaos in your life and make activities more enjoyable for your loved one. Here are some tips for creating an effective Alzheimer’s care plan.

Stay Organized

Failing to develop a schedule could lead to many challenges and stressful events for your family. However, staying organized can reduce anxiety and boost your loved one’s mood. Organization leads to more structure for seniors with Alzheimer’s, decreasing agitation and lowering the risk of combative behavior. When planning meals, outings, and daily activities, consider your loved one’s current health and abilities. As these change, the care plan will need to change. When organizing, plan the days based on your loved one’s likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, sleeping schedule, and the times of day when your parent is at his or her best.

One of the first things to consider is whether and when to hire a professional caregiver for your loved one. Families looking for top-rated homecare providers can reach out to Home Care Assistance. From respite care to specialized Alzheimer’s, dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s care, there are many ways we can make life easier for seniors and their loved ones.

Increase Safety

Whether your loved one is bathing, sleeping, eating, participating in hobbies and fun activities, or simply navigating the home, safety should always come first. Your loved one’s cognitive abilities have likely decreased due to Alzheimer’s, causing difficulty with routine tasks. Make adjustments to the home based on your loved one’s limitations and strengths. For example, if your loved one cannot remember where things are in the home, place notes throughout the house to prevent him or her from becoming confused and agitated. You should also remove sharp objects, and never leave your loved one unattended. A safe and secure environment could prevent accidents and injuries.

Promote Healthy Eating

The foods seniors eat can boost their memory, lower their stress levels, and stave off depression, which many aging adults with Alzheimer’s experience at some point. For example, eating sugary treats and beverages could lead to high anxiety levels and cause the symptoms associated with this progressive disease to worsen. However, eating foods full of omega-3 fatty acids—such as leafy green vegetables, blueberries, salmon, sardines, chia seeds, and walnuts—can enhance memory and various mental functions. Develop meal plans for the week and give your loved one a variety of healthy foods to choose from each day.

Trained Alzheimer’s caregivers can be a wonderful source of information and support for family caregivers. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of at-home care. Toronto families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet their elderly loved ones’ unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia.

Be Respectful

Your loved one deserves to be treated with dignity. Even when caregiving becomes challenging due to the progression of the disease, you need to remain respectful. Don’t treat your loved one like a child, and avoid using condescending tones or phrases. A negative atmosphere can lead to combative behavior and identity problems for seniors with Alzheimer’s. Make it a priority to promote independence, encourage socialization, and remain positive in your loved one’s presence.

Alzheimer’s can be challenging for seniors to manage without assistance, and it can be just as challenging for families who don’t have experience in providing Alzheimer’s care. Toronto Home Care Assistance provides Alzheimer’s care seniors and their families can depend on. Our proprietary Cognitive Therapeutics Method was designed to help seniors with Alzheimer’s and other memory-related conditions live happier and healthier lives. For reliable in-home care services, contact us at (416) 488-8777 today.

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