Hygiene is critical for our general well-being, but getting a person with Alzheimer’s to bathe can be a major challenge. This intimate activity can make a person feel exposed, physically uncomfortable, and threatened. In turn, they may act out in disruptive ways. Such behavior often occurs because the person doesn’t remember the purpose or need for bathing, or doesn’t have …
Healthy Family Communication
Unproductive communication styles can take years to develop, so that by the time a family really needs to work together to care for a loved one with a dementing illness they’re hamstrung by toxic interpersonal dynamics. A family can have all the resources they need to provide for the person with dementia, but if they can’t agree on the right …
Managing Family Conflict
Throughout the course of a person’s experience with Alzheimer’s, those closest to them will experience complicated emotions. Denial, anger, sadness, guilt, despair, and resentment are all par for the course. The members of a care team or family unit may be processing their grief at different rates and in different ways, meanwhile, important decisions about the person’s care need to …
April Caregiver Connection: Communication Tips
One of the greatest struggles for caregivers is communicating with the person with dementia. Luckily, there are proven strategies for avoiding conflict and making yourself understood. Use these “do’s and don’ts” to refine your caregiving communication style. DON’T Don’t reason Don’t argue Don’t confront Don’t correct Don’t question recent memory Don’t take it personally
January Caregiver Connection: Handling Guilt
It is normal to feel guilty during the process of caregiving. But feelings of guilt aren’t always healthy or appropriate; we may set unrealistic expectations for ourselves, and feel guilty when we don’t meet these expectations. In this case, guilt can drain our emotional energy and make us less effective caregivers. Luckily, there are things you can do to deal …
Basic Communication Tips
One of the most persistent struggles for family and professional caregivers is communicating with a person suffering from dementia. As language and reasoning abilities decline, frustration, agitation, and arguments are more likely to arise. Here are some basic tips to remember when you interact with a person with dementia. People with Alzheimer’s not only lose the ability to organize thoughts into sentences …