The old are an essential part of our society. Inside their minds are many years of wisdom and learning. They provide good knowledge for those who seek it, and good company for people who want to understand more about life. However, as they grow older, the more help they need to sustain themselves.
It’s estimated that six million elderly people have Alzheimer’s dementia in the US. Most of these require sufficient care to live their lives as they start to lack the ability to take care of themselves. If you have an elderly person living in your home with dementia, you need to know a couple of essentials when taking care of them. Here are some of them.
Help Them with Estate Planning Before It’s Too Late
Estate planning is when a person plans out how their estate will be distributed among their beneficiaries when they pass away. It’s a crucial process for those that have accumulated a decent amount of assets so that their remaining family members won’t have to go to court to claim their inheritance.
The main problem with estate planning is when the client starts to develop dementia. In most states, an elderly person diagnosed with dementia can’t make the decisions for estate planning. This can be troublesome as some children might take advantage of this. So you must get them to plan out their will and testament before their dementia gets worse so that their family won’t have to suffer the consequences.
Establish a Daily Routine
Frustration is one that people with an early onset of dementia experience a lot. Usually, when a person with dementia starts to do tasks, they feel hindered because they tend to forget the task or lose control entirely. For most people, this is a scary experience, and being scared can lead to frustration.
When taking care of an elderly person with dementia, you must stick with simple and familiar things. Establish a standard daily routine, and help them get used to it. This is so that they won’t have to do anything new, which can affect their morale. Furthermore, make sure that they don’t have to do things like cooking by themselves. For example, they might forget to leave the stove open. This can lead to drastic consequences.
Limit Naps
As dementia starts to set in entirely, it can be hard to determine the day and night cycle. As a result, some older people with Alzheimer’s might think that they might have entirely skipped through a couple of days. This can hurt their morale.
To avoid this, you must limit their naps. Make sure that it’s between 10 am to 4 pm and only an hour each. This is to ensure that they don’t get their days and nights mixed up. This will also ensure that they stick with the circadian rhythm of sleep, which is much healthier for the human body.
Engage Them
It’s essential to engage them with everyday decisions when it comes to taking care of those with dementia. To do this, you’ll have to give them choices, but not too many.
For example, ask them the kind of outfit they’d like to wear or ask them the dishes they want to eat. These simple decisions can make a difference in their overall mood and morale. This also gives them the autonomy and control over their lives that they seek every day. They might no longer have the ability to take care of themselves entirely, but at least they can still have control over their lives.
Get Some Help
Taking care of people with dementia can be tough, and you shouldn’t strain yourself either. Instead, get some help when you need it.
If you think that you can’t handle caring for an elderly person by yourself, then it’s time to call in some help. There are many in-home care agencies that you can contact for this purpose, each having unique specialties that can help alleviate some of your personal struggles in taking care of an elderly person in your home. They are particularly great in taking care of older people who have dementia.
The experience these people have is vital. You can learn so much from it. It will help you efficiently take care of an elderly person in your home. Moreover, if you have a day job, this will ensure that there’s always someone watching over them while you work.
The elderly deserve the care we give them in the later stages of their lives. We can remind them that they are still a crucial part of society by being there for them. This in itself is already a good reminder for people with dementia.
