By C. Gentile
Our loved ones with Alzheimer's understand and respond to the world differently than they once did. Their reactions can be confusing and upsetting. To support them, we need to do our best to meet their needs and accept them as they are.
Here are six tips that will help us help them. Since no two persons with Alzheimer's are alike, feel free to adapt these suggestions to fit your loved one:
1. A healthy diet can help decrease difficult behaviors. While diet isn't typically identified as a behavior management technique, avoiding difficult behaviors is. Low blood sugar or spikes in sugar can trigger problems in some people.
Think of how you feel when you haven't eaten: cranky? irritable? impatient? Not your usual self? Okay, now magnify that by a thousand and you'll get a taste of what your loved one is up against. Talk to your loved one's doctor about supplementing their diet with a good quality multi-vitamin that has plenty of B-vitamins.
2. Use pictures, drawings, or photos to help your loved one recall information. When you and your loved one are discussing an activity, help focus their attention by showing them a picture, photo, or drawing of the activity. Visuals can be useful when your loved ones are brushing their teeth. Keep pictures that show the steps involved in brushing teeth nearby so they can refer to them.
3. Engage your loved one in activities he/she enjoys. This may be as simple as helping around the house. At home, we would invite my mother to help fold laundry. We gave her a pile of face cloths (we kept the task simple), then folded them with her. That way, if she forgot what to do next, she could glance at what we were doing. The point is: structure the task so your loved one will enjoy success. Success breeds contentment, which is what we're aiming for.
4. Speak with your loved one in simple sentences that are short, sweet, and concrete. Don't rely on your loved one to remember the meaning of words; if you're inviting them to go for a walk, show them their jacket.
5. Avoid confrontations. Should your loved one show signs of becoming upset or uncooperative, distract them by offering something they enjoy--for example, going into the kitchen to make and eat a sandwich. Try not to take their behavior personally. Often, when they can't remember words, they tell us through their behavior that they need something. Our job is to figure out what that need is.
6. Keep a smile in your voice and on your face. Your loved one may not remember what you've said, but they will remember how you said it and will react accordingly.
C. Gentile is the editor of the free ezine, Together With Alzheimer's. Searching for workable solutions to the many issues that confronted her mother's experience with Alzheimer's motivated C. Gentile to develop this ezine. C. Gentile's professional background in special education and mental health helped her understand this disease and the perseverance it takes to live with it.
Together With Alzheimer's Ezine delves into the impact of Alzheimer's disease on the individual, the family, and caregivers and provides family-friendly tips to help caregivers help their loved ones with Alzheimer's function at their best. To subscribe, go to: http://www.catherinegentile.com/Together_With_Alz.html.
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