Dealing with Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease

Seniors with Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease have the same needs as all of us: to find purpose and pleasure in life.

However, it takes special understanding and training to help them fulfill this need—and to safely care for them at home. Comfort Keepers^® is here to offer that special kind of Dementia care.

Through Interactive Caregiving ™, our Comfort Keepers enhance the lives of seniors who have Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. They can provide:

• Activities and exercises to lessen agitation
• Stimulating sensory activities, such as painting, baking, walking, brushing and styling a client’s hair
• Music and dancing —to promote a sense of well-being
• Opportunities to reminisce about older memories to engage the mind and make up for a loss of short-term memory

Such activities promote self-esteem and provide seniors the pleasing, therapeutic benefit of social contact.

Research has proven the therapeutic benefit of Dementia care activities. A study published  in The Gerontologist, the journal of the Gerontological Society of America, found that persons with Alzheimer’s were less depressed and experienced higher cognitive function when engaged in activities they found enjoyable.

The Memory and Aging Project, a published neurology study conducted at Rush University Medical Center, concluded that mentally active seniors are 2.6 times less likely to develop Dementia than seniors who do not exercise their brains with stimulating pastimes and tasks.

Dementia care clearly makes a real difference in a senior’s life.

Spotting Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease Signs

Because we lose brain cells as we get older, we may take longer to recall familiar words or people’s names or where we put our car keys. Normally, these kinds of things will come back to us. However, memory problems that affect our daily living are reason for concern and medical attention. These memory problems could indicate the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Signs of such a problem could be forgetting how to get to a familiar place or how to complete an often-repeated task.

If cognitive changes occur suddenly, it may be an indication of an underlying problem like a negative reaction to medication, dehydration or malnutrition. We recommend that you contact a medical professional immediately if you observe these signs in a senior loved-one.

Dementia Care Technology

Comfort Keepers offers advanced technology to help keep seniors safe as they live independently. Click here to learn more about senior safety technology.