Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease is challenging, just as is caring for any ill person, because the disease not only affects the person physically, but mentally.
Often, in the early stages of the disease, a spouse or other family member will provide the daily care for a person with Alzheimer’s. However, as the disease progresses and symptoms become more pronounced, the person with Alzheimer’s will need more care, which is often when caregivers will look for outside assistance.
Because Alzheimer’s patients can be different from other care patients, it’s important to ask about experience working with people with dementia when looking for a caregiver, whether in-home or long-term. It is quite helpful to allow a potential caregiver to interact with the person with Alzheimer’s before making a decision, so that they have a sense of the person, and you can get a sense of them. You will be developing a relationship with the caregiver, whether the care is in or out of the home, so you, the person with Alzheimer’s and the caregiver all need to be comfortable with each other for the relationship to work.
Remember also that when you are interviewing caregivers to interview the entire organization, not just the primary caregiver. If someone will be coming in for in-home care, it’s important to know what kind of support they have, who will fill in for them if they can not make it in, and what sort of training they have.
If you’re looking at long-term care in a facility, find out what type of training the provider offers for its staff members, how they develop care plans for patients, and how they address certain issues. It is helpful to observe how caregivers interact with other patients, and to talk to a broad range of people in the care site, such as residents and visitors, to see what they think of the facility and staff. Remember, any decision about care for someone with Alzheimer’s is one for which you should take your time and gather as much information as possible. It’s a decision that will impact not only your friend or family member with Alzheimer’s, but you as well.
Regardless of what level of caregiving you are at, if you’re caring for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease, a support group can be tremendously helpful to you. A support group gives you an opportunity to come together with other caregivers facing similar challenges to share stories, ideas and frustrations, letting you know that there is support for you, and you are not alone. Because you can interact with people who have more experience caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, you can get many valuable suggestions to help you out, as well as the valuable perspective of experience.
To find a group, visit the Alzheimer’s Association website (www.alz.org), which has chapters across the country that provide educational programs and sponsor support groups for caregivers and family members.