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Low Vision and Dementia Tips and Activity Ideas Finding activities which can be fun and engaging for a senior with dementia tends to be a challenge. Add in vision impairment, and it could seem overwhelming. Even so, it is vitally important to make sure every day holds opportunities for purpose, joy, and meaning – minimizing the level of agitation, frustration, and other challenging emotions and behaviors in Alzheimer's. Our Windsor-Essex home care team has low vision and dementia tips to help. The first step is to think through the older…

Caring for elders can overwhelm us Nicole Johnson, a memory therapy coach, works with a patient at Amy’s Helping Hands   For caregivers, worrying about an aging relative is stressful enough. Taking care of two loved ones kicks up that stress level rise significantly. This is the daily reality for Denise and her sister who are responsible for the care of two aging relatives. For them, caregiving took a difficult turn when both relatives needed additional help over a few days. With one having hip surgery and the other being transferred…

The Post-Pandemic Work-Life Balance: Here’s What Family Caregivers Can Expect If there is one particular positive after-effect of the pandemic, it is the appreciation generated for the plight of family caregivers. Managing work and home life has always been a tremendous challenge for people caring for a senior family member. As Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO of Wellthy, explains, “Caregiving went from a silent struggle to being in the spotlight overnight.” Businesses were unexpectedly thrown into the fire of directing an environment of balancing the safety of staff along…

Create Your All-Star Care Team in 5 Steps What family caregivers often need most is sound advice, regular respite and an extra set of hands. Friends may scatter when one becomes the primary caregiver for a spouse or parent, and not everyone has siblings or other family members they can depend on to share the load. A carefully selected care team is a necessary complement to a loved one’s detailed care plan. Step 1: Draft a list of prospective team members Write down the name of each family member, friend or neighbor with whom you regularly…

Creating a Legacy for Your Parent A common regret of adult children who have lost their parents is the wish that they had asked and understood more about their own family history. This is particularly true for family caregivers, whose focus on the present is necessitated by the practical concerns of getting through the day. Making time to learn more about the past seems like a luxury for many caregivers. But taking that time may be beneficial to those we love and care for and provide an important opportunity to redefine and enhance…

The Difficult Emotions Every Family Caregiver Battles – and How to Let Them Go If you are feeling a bit discouraged in your role as caregiver, take heart; you’re in good company. Providing care help for a loved one is perhaps the most complex role we can hold: highly rewarding on the one hand, while simultaneously frustrating and ever-evolving, frequently resulting in feelings of doubt about whether we are up to the challenge and providing the most effective care.  It’s why a number of family caregivers struggle with some or all of these types of feelings:  Guilt: It…

Dementia Caregiver Tips: The Benefits of a Memory Book “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Dr. Seuss Memories are what binds together our past with who we are today; and for a person with Alzheimer's, confusion around these memories can have a serious impact. One of our goals in taking care of seniors with Alzheimer's is to help them hold onto and share memories in order to make sense of day to day life. A wonderful way to accomplish this is through the creation of a memory book, which includes…

Polypharmacy for Seniors: Is Your Loved One Over-Prescribed? With more than a third of all 60-year-olds taking five or more prescription medications, it’s no surprise that problems are resulting from polypharmacy for seniors. Polypharmacy, defined as “…when an adverse drug effect is misinterpreted as a new medical problem – leading to the prescribing of more medication to treat the initial drug-induced symptom,” can result in a variety of additional health risks or worsening of existing conditions. So how can you determine if medications for seniors…