As a person ages, the loss of their independence can weigh heavily on their minds. Many people feel that accepting any type of in-home care service for seniors indicates the next step is being sent to an assisted living facility. The fear of having to rely on others can cause older adults to refuse home care, more so in cases of dementia patients. The following suggestions may help you overcome the stress and challenges of helping an elderly parent who is suffering from dementia, requires dementia home care services, or is uncomfortable in accepting home care assistance.
Start the discussion early and have a plan in place while your elderly parent can still fully take care of him or herself in their own home. By talking about it early, both of you have the time to prepare for the moment when your parent may need a little extra assistance.
Be patient with your elderly parents while discussing opting for home care assistance. Accepting the fact that they need help can be overwhelming and may take a little while for them to get used to the idea. Be encouraging and supportive while they work through the mental process of realizing they need help.
Accepting home care for an individual who has always been self-reliant can be somewhat difficult. Show them compassion as they begin to realize that their bodies and minds are not as young as they used to be.
Try to understand your senior’s viewpoint by putting yourself in their shoes. You will need to understand that your loved ones may find it difficult to accept that they are aging and losing mental capabilities. This can be scary for them, and they may resist the thought of losing independence and opting for dementia home care. However, understanding their mental situation will help you approach this topic more sensibly and compassionately. Discuss all facts with your seniors to help them make an informed decision about hiring dementia home care for the elderly services.
Be persistent and continue to broach the subject, but do so in an encouraging and comforting manner. Forcing the issue will only cause more stress and disappointment.
While caring for a senior suffering from dementia, you may realize that they may not be able to concentrate on the conversation for long durations in the early stages. When your elderly loved one loses focus, it's best to remain patient, listen to them, talk about other things and gradually steer the conversation back to the required issue.
You can discuss the type of assistance required with your elderly loved one. Try asking non-threatening, minimally invasive, and open-ended questions to ascertain the type and level of dementia home care assistance needed. For example, you could ask if your parent wishes to go out to meet friends again or whether your parent would prefer not to do chores such as driving, grocery shopping, and laundry. Discuss if your loved one is afraid of losing his or her independence by hiring home care for elderly services. They may have trouble communicating, but it gradually will become easier for you to understand their intentions and act accordingly.
Offer your elderly parents several different options. In-home care for seniors at Newport Home Care takes various forms and can be tailored to meet their needs. At Newport Home Care, we ensure that home care for the elderly does not have to be restrictive. Instead, in-home care facilities for seniors can give your parents a new lease on life.
This will also help your loved ones feel that they are part of the entire process of seeking dementia home care assistance for the elderly and allow them to have partial control over the decisions being made. It would also ease the process of accepting assistance from a stranger regularly. You can discuss the days of the week the in-home care assistance for seniors would be provided and their preferred timing for it. You can also discuss in which areas they would need assistance and to which degree.
Give your parents a chance to meet the caregivers. Meeting the people who will be caring for them may change their minds about receiving home care.
Even if you hire the best possible caregiver providing in-home care for seniors, the effort may not yield the best results if they fail to connect with your loved one. Take it slow. Before appointing the caregiver, let your parent meet them over coffee or in your home environment to enable them to be comfortable with each other. Then, you can ask the caregiver to take a walk with your parent, accompany them to doctor’s appointments, and so on. This helps your parent understand that the complete dementia home care process aims to support them and that you are not imposing an unwanted person on them.
Dementia home care may be the solution to allowing your elderly parent to remain in their home for many years. The key is convincing your parents to consider the benefits home care offers. Talk to them often and continue to support them by answering their questions and continuing to provide options.
Newport Home Care provides in-home care for seniors and dementia home care facilities at affordable rates customized as per your requirement. Contact us at 949-514-8303 for further details.
