Monthly Archives: October 2017

Creating a daily plan can help caregivers and people with Alzheimer’s – Optimum Senior Care – Chicago In Home Caregivers

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Creating a daily plan can help caregivers and people with Alzheimer’s – Optimum Senior Care – Chicago In Home Caregivers – www.OptimumSeniorCare.com

 

Daily routines can be helpful for both caregivers and people living with Alzheimer’s disease. A planned day allows you to spend less time trying to figure out what to do and

Creating a Daily Plan

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Daily routines can be helpful for both you — the caregiver — and the person with Alzheimer’s. A planned day allows you to spend less time trying to figure out what to do, and more time on activities that provide meaning and enjoyment.

Organizing the day

Remember to make time for yourself, or include the person with dementia in activities that you enjoy – for example, taking a daily walk.

A person with Alzheimer’s or other progressive dementia will eventually need a caregiver’s assistance to organize the day. Structured and pleasant activities can often reduce agitation and improve mood. Planning activities for a person with dementia works best when you continually explore, experiment and adjust.

Before making a plan, consider:

  • The person’s likes, dislikes, strengths, abilities and interests
  • How the person used to structure his or her day
  • What times of day the person functions best 
  • Ample time for meals, bathing and dressing
  • Regular times for waking up and going to bed (especially helpful if the person with dementia experiences sleep issues or sundowning)

Make sure to allow for flexibility within your daily routine for spontaneous activities.

As Alzheimer’s disease progresses, the abilities of a person with dementia will change. With creativity, flexibility and problem solving, you’ll be able to adapt your daily routine to support these changes.

Checklist of Daily Activities to Consider

  • Household chores
  • Mealtimes
  • Personal care
  • Creative activities (music, art, crafts)
  • Spontaneous (visiting friends)
  • Intellectual (reading, puzzles)
  • Physical
  • Social
  • Spiritual
  • Work-related (making notes)

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Writing a plan

When thinking about how to organize the day, consider:

  • What activities work best? Which don’t? Why? (Keep in mind that the success of an activity can vary from day-to-day.)
  • Are there times when there is too much going on or too little to do?
  • Were spontaneous activities enjoyable or did they create anxiety and confusion?

Don’t be concerned about filling every minute with an activity. The person with Alzheimer’s needs a balance of activity and rest, and may need more frequent breaks and varied tasks.

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Daily plan example (for early- to middle-stages of the disease)

Morning

– Wash, brush teeth, get dressed
– Prepare and eat breakfast
– Have a conversation over coffee.
– Discuss the newspaper, try a craft project, reminisce about old photos
– Take a break, have some quiet time
– Do some chores together
– Take a walk, play an active game

Afternoon

– Prepare and eat lunch, read mail, wash dishes
– Listen to music, do crossword puzzles, watch TV
– Do some gardening, take a walk, visit a friend
– Take a short break or nap

Evening

– Prepare and eat dinner, clean up the kitchen
– Reminisce over coffee and dessert
– Play cards, watch a movie, give a massage
– Take a bath, get ready for bed, read a book

In general, if the person seems bored, distracted or irritable, it may be time to introduce another activity or to take time out for rest. The type of activity and how well it’s completed are not as important as the joy and sense of accomplishment the person gets from doing it.

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Top Resources

Enjoy comic relief at Laughs To Remember – Alzheimer’s – Optimum Senior Care – Chicago In Home Caregivers

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Enjoy comic relief at Laughs To Remember – Alzheimer’s – Optimum Senior Care – Chicago In Home Caregivers – www.OptimumSeniorCare.com

Join us Saturday, November 4 at Concord Place for Laughs to Remember. This fundraiser event features a seated dinner, cocktail hour, silent auction and live performances by some of Chicago’s best comedic talent. Get your tickets for this side-splitting event to help make sure Alzheimer’s doesn’t get the last laugh.

U.S. Postal Service to issue Alzheimer’s disease awareness stamp – Optimum Senior Care – Chicago In Home Caregivers

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U.S. Postal Service to issue Alzheimer’s disease awareness stamp – Optimum Senior Care – Chicago In Home Caregivers – www.OptimumSeniorCare.com

The Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement applaud the U.S. Postal Service for accepting the request of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) to issue a new stamp to promote Alzheimer’s awareness and support research on the disease. The issuance of the Alzheimer’s Disease Semipostal Stamp will raise critical public awareness about the disease and aid the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in its efforts to increase Alzheimer’s research funding to the appropriate level to cure or effectively treat the disease by 2025.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most expensive disease in America and the only leading cause of death that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. Still, this statistic comes as a shock to many who are not familiar with the disease. Today, there are more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease and prevalence is projected to increase to as many as 16 million by 2050. Despite the growing numbers, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are underdiagnosed, and that lack of awareness prevents those living with the disease and their caregivers from receiving the care and support they deserve and need.

Today, the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) and the Alzheimer’s Association applaud the U.S. Postal Service for accepting the request of Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD-7) to issue a new stamp to promote Alzheimer’s awareness and support research on the disease. This provision has been supported by and long advocated for by AIM and the Association. The issuance of the Alzheimer’s Disease Semipostal Stamp will raise critical public awareness about the disease and aid the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in its efforts to increase Alzheimer’s research funding to the appropriate level if we are to cure or effectively treat the disease by 2025. Proposed NIH Alzheimer’s research funding totals reached a historic $1.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2017, and an additional $400 million is pending for FY2018. These recent increases, combined with the proceeds raised by the sale of the Alzheimer’s Disease Semipostal Stamp is providing those affected by the disease with hope.

We asked Kathy Siggins (from Maryland), fierce advocate of the Alzheimer’s Semipostal Stamp Act and former caregiver for her husband, to describe what a triumphant win the stamp is for Alzheimer’s advocates:

“No words can describe my feeling when I got the news from Mary Anne Penner, Director of Stamp Services, that Alzheimer’s had been selected to be the first semipostal to be issued under the USPS Discretionary Semipostal Stamp Program. My heartfelt thanks to all of the dedicated advocates, caregivers and families of loved ones lost who are here in spirit as we celebrate this milestone. A special thank you to my dear friend and fellow advocate Lynda Everman who joined me in this fight to help make this happen, in memory of our late husband’s Gene and Richard, we finally did it. I want to thank Reps. Maxine Waters and Chris Smith, Co-Chairs of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease and Rep. Elijah Cummings, Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and their colleagues for making this possible to help families living with Alzheimer’s disease.”

AIM and the Alzheimer’s Association join in Kathy’s appreciation for the work of Reps. Waters and Cummings, and thank Kathy and all of our advocates for their hard work over the years to make this stamp a reality.