Living With and Caregiving For A Person With Alzheimer's Disease

Caregiving can be very difficult at times. However, there are ways to deal with the situation. Here are some tips that have worked for other caregivers:

Establish routines but keep things normal

A routine can decrease the decisions you will need to make and bring order and structure into an otherwise confused daily life. A routine may come to represent security for the person with AD. be helpful, it is important to keep things as normal as possible. As much as the changing condition will allow, try to treat the person as you did bbefore the disease.

Support the person's independence

It is necessary that the person remains independent as long as possible. It helps to maintain self respect and decreases the burden on you.

Help the person maintain dignity

Remember that the person you care for is still an individual with feelings. What you and others say and do can be disturbing. Avoid discussing the person's condition in his or her presence.

Avoid confrontation

Any type of conflict causes unnecessary stress on you and the person with Alzheimer's. Avoid drawing attention to failure and maintain a calm composure. Becoming upset can only make the situation worse. Remember it is the disease, not the person's fault.

Keep tasks simple

Try to make things simple for the person with AD. Don't offer too many choices.

Maintain a sense of humour

Laugh with (but not at) the person with Alzheimer's. Humour can be a great stress reliever.

Make safety important

Loss of physical coordination and memory increases the chance of injury, so you should make your home as safe as possible.

Encourage fitness and health

In many cases, this can help maintain the person's existing physical and mental abilities for a time. The appropriate exercise depends on the person's condition. Consult your physician for advice.

Help make the best of a person's existing abilities

Some planned activities can enhance a person's sense of dignity and selfworth by giving purpose and meaning to life. A person who was once a homemaker, gardener, trades person or business executive may gain satisfaction from using some types of abilities related to these jobs.

Remember, however, that because AD is progressive, the person's likes, dislikes and abilities may change over time. This will require you, the caregiver to be observant and flexible in planning activities.

Maintain communication

As the disease progresses, communication between you and the person can become more difficult. It may be helpful if you:

• Make sure the person's senses are not impaired – such as eyesight and hearing, (eg spectacles may no longer be of the right prescription, or a hearing aid may not be functioning properly)
• Speak clearly, slowly, face to face and at eye level
• Show love and warmth through hugs, if this is comfortable for the person
• Pay attention to the person's body language – people whose Ianguage is impaired communicate through non-verbal means
• Be aware of your own body language
• Find out what combination of word reminders, or prompting words, guidance and demonstration is needed to communicate effectively with the person
• Make sure you have the person's attention before speaking

Use memory aids

In the early stages of Alzheimer's, memory aids can help the person to remember, and they can help prevent confusion. The following are successful examples:

• Display large clearly-labelled pictures of relatives so the person can keep track of who is who
• Label doors of rooms with words and bright distinctive colours
• Memory aids will not be so useful in the later stages of AD be helpful, it is important to keep things as normal as possible.

As much as the changing condition will allow, try to treat the person as you did before the disease.