Alzheimer’s disease affects so many aspects of your senior’s life, even simple activities like getting dressed for the day. As the disease progresses, these problems can become more serious, so it helps to have some strategies in place.
Reduce the Choices.
When your senior has too many choices when she’s getting dressed she might find herself overwhelmed. Reducing the number of choices available can have the effect of calming that overwhelm and allowing her to still express herself. When you offer an outfit choice, for example, just offer one other decision.
Be Prepared to Give a Little.
You’ve probably got some distinct ideas about how you would like for your senior to dress, but she might as well. It helps to know when to dig in your heels and when to be more flexible. If it doesn’t really matter whether your senior’s socks match, for instance, that is something you can let go of this time.
Keep Clothing and the Dressing Process Organized.
Organization is the answer to a lot of problems you and your senior might face when it comes to getting dressed. Each season, swap out some of the clothing that isn’t as appropriate for that time of year and rotate in more appropriate options. This helps to ensure that your elderly family member isn’t trying to grab a heavy sweater in the dead of summer and a tank top in the winter.
Don’t Forget the Shoes.
Shoes are really important for someone with Alzheimer’s disease. She might not be as stable in bare feet as you’d like and the right footwear, which is sturdy with non-slip soles, gives her that extra layer of security. When you help her put shoes on at the beginning of the day, you don’t have to worry about footwear for the rest of the day.
Let Someone Else Take Over.
Sometimes as much as you want to make life easier for your senior and help her to get dressed with no drama, it’s just difficult for both of you. Having senior care providers handle tasks like helping your elderly family member get dressed every day can sometimes be the best option. It’s sometimes easier for your aging adult to allow someone else to help with these types of activities and that can relieve stress for you.
The key to helping your senior get dressed as her Alzheimer’s disease advances is to make things as easy as possible for both of you. When the task is too complicated, that causes frustration and irritation to take center stage and that’s not good for anyone involved.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring senior care in Edison, NJ, call the caring staff at Helping Hands Home Care today at 908-418-4299. Providing Home Care Services in all of Northern and Central NJ, including Clark, Westfield, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Rahway, Linden, Summit, Edison, Elizabeth, Mountainside and the surrounding areas.
After graduating from Seton Hall University with a BS in finance Helping Hands Homecare’s Owner / President, Robert D’Arienzo, went to work on Wall St. for six years. However, after Robert’s grandmother became ill with stomach cancer Robert and his family needed to find assistance in the home for her. After many trials and tribulations Robert could see that there was a great need for quality home care services here in NJ and loved the idea of being able to assist other families who were going through what his family went through with his beloved grandmother.
Thus, Robert had found his passion. After almost a year of preparation Robert opened Helping Hands Homecare in 2003. Robert wanted Helping Hands Homecare to focus on providing the highest quality of caregivers, exceptional customer service, and providing a service that familys could depend on in their time of need. Since then Helping Hands has assisted hundreds of individuals with the simplest of needs to more complex cases while preserving those standards set out many years ago.
Robert is a Google Verified Author
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