How to Stay Connected With a Senior Who Has Alzheimer’s

image_pdfimage_print

If your senior mom or dad has Alzheimer’s you may be worried about how you can stay connected with them. Communication might be hard for them and you may not even know how to get a hold of them. If your senior loved one is aging in place but suffers from this progressive disease, the family needs to think about hiring Alzheimer’s care providers to help them thrive while they age in place. This will help you stay connected, feel relief when thinking of your mom or dad, and help keep you in the loop as far as their life goes.

Here are some ways to stay connected with the help of Alzheimer’s care.

Schedule Phone Calls

Alzheimer's Care Bernardsville NJ - How to Stay Connected With a Senior Who Has Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s Care Bernardsville NJ – How to Stay Connected With a Senior Who Has Alzheimer’s

If you do not live close enough to visit you may have to try phone calls. As this disease progresses you may be hesitant to call. The good news is, if they have a caregiver helping them you can still call them. A caregiver might tell you if it is a good or bad time to call but if it is something that is scheduled, like a weekly phone call, your loved one will know in advance that you are going to talk to them and this may actually help them mentally prepare for a conversation. Calling out of the blue may be harder for a senior so sticking to a schedule can be useful when you are trying to talk to your loved one.

Try Video Chatting

Sometimes talking on the phone is hard and almost nearly impossible when a senior can’t see you. They may get confused or forget who they are talking to. Instead of scheduling a phone call with the help of Alzheimer’s care, you can try to set up a video chat with your loved one. This allows them to see you and allows you to see them. A caregiver can accept the call and help keep the phone on your loved one so you can enjoy each other. This can be hard to do without help so it is best if a caregiver gets things set up for your loved one. It is also best to keep surprises to a minimum so a routine video chat can truly help keep the family connected and help keep you and everyone else in the loop.

Visit On Good Days

It is so hard to visit when you live far away, but there are going to be times when you should visit your senior loved one. Make it a priority to visit once a month the same weekend every month or around the same time. You can visit as often as you like which will help you understand what their life is like and why they need more support. But also, this gives a senior something to look forward to and will help them with their quality of life. They may forget things but no matter who a person is or how old they are they need to feel loved. When you create a schedule and routine by visiting it helps Alzheimer’s care aides manage and prepare a senior but it also helps a senior mentally prepare for the day ahead even if they have forgotten some details.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Alzheimer’s Care Services in Bernardsville NJ, please talk to the caring staff at Generations Home Health Care today.

Providing Home Care in Somerset, Essex, Union, Morris, and Hunterdon Counties. Call us today at (908) 290-0691 or (973) 241-4534.

Susan Myer, RN, BSN, CCRN, CDP