Tips for Creating a Daily Plan for a Senior with Alzheimer’s Disease

By Jami D. Eddy | April 11, 2018

Creating a daily plan for your aging parent can be one of the most valuable care decisions that you make for them during their experience with Alzheimer’s disease. As a family caregiver it is your responsibility to devise a care approach that is aimed not just at addressing their specific challenges and limitations, but also at supporting independence and quality of life as they progress and as they age in place. Creating a daily plan for them can be extremely useful in helping you to achieve this goal.

Elderly Care in Madison FL: Creating a Daily Plan

By creating a daily plan you can ease your parent’s anxiety, create a greater feeling of control and confidence, and help to encourage more compliance and willingness to participate in care tasks. In order to get the most benefit from their routine, it is important to create a daily plan that is right for them.

Use these tips to help you create a daily plan for a senior with Alzheimer’s disease:

Start by considering your parent as an individual. Think about their specific preferences, likes and dislikes, and any habits or routines that they already have. Integrating these into their daily routine will make creating the plan easier and make it more accessible and beneficial for your senior.
Think about the type of daily structure that they used to have when they were younger. You likely remember patterns that they had when they worked or even in their early retirement. You can use these to help you build the schedule. As seniors with Alzheimer’s disease are more likely to remember and feel connected to things from years ago than they are more recent memories, “going back” can actually feel more natural and comfortable for them.
Consider the times of day when your parent tends to be tired or irritable. Ensure that you do not plan any potentially challenging tasks or activities for this time.
Remember that tasks that you might think should be handled quickly can take much longer for a senior with Alzheimer’s disease. Plan plenty of time around all care tasks, but particularly those that might be stressful or complex, such as bathing, dressing, and meal time.
Be sure to include a bedtime and wake-up time. Sleep schedules are valuable for personal health and well-being for everyone, but can be critical for the health and daily functioning of a senior with Alzheimer’s disease. These can be particularly important if your parent deals with sleep pattern issues or sundowning, when they become anxious or frightened during the night.
Be flexible. Even though you want to be able to structure their day and keep it a predictable routine, this will not always happen. Be willing to be flexible with how and when things happen.

Making elderly care a part of your care routine with your aging parent can be an exceptional way to meet their needs and challenges, address their limitations, and help them to live the highest quality of life possible as they age in place. An elderly home care services provider can offer your parent a highly personalized set of services designed specifically for your parent according to their needs as well as their opinions, goals, and preferences. This means that they will receive the support and assistance that is right for them while also encouraging a lifestyle that is independent, engaged, and fulfilling. These personalized services can include everything from safe and reliable transportation to allow your parent to handle more of their errands on their own and participate in activities outside of the home, help with activities of daily living, including keeping the home clean and healthy, assistance with personal care needs such as bathing, toileting, and grooming, meal preparation, and medication reminders to keep them compliant.

If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in Madison, FL, please call the caring staff at Hopewell In-Home Senior Care today at 850-386-5552. Providing Senior Care Services in North Florida

Source

https://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_stages_of_alzheimers.asp

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Jami D. Eddy

Administrator at Hopewell In-Home Senior Care

Jami Eddy is the Administrator and an owner of Hopewell In-Home Senior Care. She graduated from Florida State University in 2005 with a major in criminology and a minor in psychology. Jami has been with Hopewell for more than 10 years and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business.