If you are a caregiver for a parent or other relative with dementia, you don’t need to hear that it’s tough. You already know that.

When a beloved mother or father has dementia, the caregiver is both doing tasks for her parent and also grieving her parent. It may seem like your parent is steadily disappearing and being replaced by someone who doesn’t connect with you emotionally.

It’s All About Building a Team

But caregiving should not isolate you. Nor should you be doing it alone. When caring for a dementia patient, you need to build a team. The bigger the better. Cast your net wide, and don’t assume that people don’t want to help you. You might be surprised, if you ask for help, how many people want to volunteer.

Such care teams often start with immediate family: you, your children, your husband, your siblings, your parents’ siblings, and branch outward to include neighbors, church members, and civic organizations.

The team should also include medical and social work professionals. The doctor who diagnoses a patient with dementia may be part of this team, as is the doctor with whom the patient follows up.

If your hospital does not assign a social worker to your parent’s case, you can ask for one. Social workers are good at referring you to resources such as transportation, meals on wheels, and adult day care opportunities.

An occupational therapist can be extremely helpful in assessing the patient’s home for fall risks and needed modifications to make living at home viable.

Make Home Care Part of Your Team

Home care professionals, who visit your parents or grandparents in their houses or apartments, can often make it possible for dementia patients to age in place. These home aides perform a wide variety of tasks, including cooking, cleaning, bathing, and toileting.

These home care workers give caregivers a much needed break to care for themselves. When someone else undertakes the arduous tasks of bathing and house cleaning for a senior, that leaves you free to simply enjoy the companionship of your parent during his or her remaining years.

Have a Support Group For Yourself

It’s important for caregivers of dementia patients to have a support system, not just for a cognitively disabled parent, but also for themselves.

Caregiving is a rewarding, but draining occupation. And studies show that caregivers are in considerable danger of neglecting their own health. Caregivers are at particular risk for mental health disorders like depression and dissociation.

Online communities can offer a good deal of valuable advice and compassion. The Alzheimer’s Foundation, for example, manages a site called ALZConnected that features stories and conversations between caregivers.

In conclusion, caregiving is not an easy job, but it does not have to result in harm to the caregiver. Build a team, learn about local resources, ask for help. This is not something you should try to do by yourself.

Sources

https://www.healthcentral.com/slideshow/support-groups-for-dementia-caregivers
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4308691/

If You Or An Aging Loved One Are Considering Hiring Caregivers in Redington Beach, FL, Please Contact The Caring Staff At Assisting Hands Home Care Today! 727-748-4211.