If you have a family member living with Alzheimer’s disease, listen to Senior Care Authority’s recent episode on their Boomers Today Podcast, which offers you expert advice on caring for your loved ones with dementia.
Knowing someone who lives with dementia can be stressful and emotionally taxing, especially if you’re not sure how to best communicate with them. You may be finding that your visits keep going south, or that your attempts at caring for your loved one aren’t as productive as you’d like them to be. Of course, this is neither your fault nor your loved one’s - it may just be a case of lacking the know-how.
But Senior Care Authority is here to help you with their Boomers Today Podcast, a podcast that offers all kinds of advice on caregiver challenges, health and wellness, and self-care. The most recent episode features Marcy Baskin, a certified Senior Advisor, Dementia Practitioner, and Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Trainer. She’s a bona fide expert on caring for family members with Alzheimer’s disease, and she is more than happy to share her strategies with you.
Visit https://www.seniorcareauthority.com/resources/boomers-today/ to listen to the podcast.
You and your family are definitely not alone in your struggles with dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 6.7 million Americans over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer’s disease as of 2023. As people live longer, the population continues to age, and the number of Americans who are diagnosed with dementia and other cognitive diseases will only increase in the coming years, says Senior Care Authority.
In the recent episode of the Boomers Today Podcast, Baskin shares tips she has learned through her own experiences as both a support group facilitator for the Alzheimer’s Association and a daughter whose mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. When visiting a loved one with dementia, Baskin urges you to remember that people with compromised cognitive function can be sensitive to body language and may feel overwhelmed if there are too many visitors. Using short sentences and refraining from offering too many choices can reduce confusion, which in turn can spur productive communication and help your loved one feel calm and secure.
Baskin also stresses that it’s important not to get frustrated if your loved one doesn’t understand you or remember something that you’ve said, as this is part of the natural progression of cognitive diseases. For visits to go smoothly, she says that it can sometimes be helpful for you to introduce yourself at the start. For example, if it’s your parent with Alzheimer’s, say hi to them, tell them your name, and say that you’re their child. It may seem odd, but it’s surprisingly effective.
Small acts like these can vastly improve the quality of the time you spend with family members living with dementia. And if you only have limited time with them left, it goes without saying that you want your visits to be the best that they can possibly be. That’s not all there is to it, of course; you can get more helpful tips on caring for and visiting someone with cognitive decline in the full episode of the podcast.
About Senior Care Authority
Senior Care Authority is a network of professional local advisors who aid families struggling with assisted living, memory care, and nursing care. Founded in California in 2009, and franchised in 2014, Senior Care Authority has since expanded its services to 30 states. Their Boomers Today Podcast is among the many resources they offer to help alleviate the challenges people may face while navigating the healthcare system.
With how complicated the world is these days, it can be hard for your aging friends and family members to kick back and enjoy the golden years of their lives. If you’re at a loss for what to do to help them, Senior Care Authority is here for you. So give their podcast a listen - it may just surprise you with the senior care solutions you’ve been looking for.
Listen to full episodes of the podcast at https://www.seniorcareauthority.com/resources/boomers-today/ or on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and iHeartRadio.
