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Alzheimer's 102 - Page 2

© Marci Stocks

Adult day cares offer activities for loved ones at all stages of a dementing illness. Many centers play music, eat lunch, go for walks, do crafts, and play games. The goal is to find the appropriate program for your loved one. This is done by asking questions and finding a center where your loved one will fit in. For example, if your loved one is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's (i.e. she is able to dress herself, walk on her own) your loved one would benefit from a program that had the majority of individuals in her stage. If not, she may be too active for a less active crowd. Therefore, the activities being done may be boring to her and not challenging enough.

If you have family members that would like to help, take them up on this offer, even if it is just for an hour. It's important for you to have time to yourself. Also, join a support group whether it is online or in your community. Caregivers share their stories and often provide others with lots of helpful tips. You may find that another caregiver is going through a stage that you are going currently through.

You can never have too many support systems while caregiving, so do not feel guilty if you receive help.

Resources

Family Caregiver Alliance
This is an excellent web site for caregivers of elderly loved ones.

Caregiver Network
This may be of special interest to Canadians as this web site is from Canada. It offers a lot of caregiving information.

Caregiving.com
This is an online newsletter and support group for caregivers.

Ten Tips for Family Caregivers
This site may be especially helpful to new caregivers, however, the tips can be quite helpful to all caregivers.

If you would like to share your tips and suggestions with others, please begin a discussion below.

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