Description

Alzheimer's patients see the world differently than we do. Here are some ways to help your loved one learn to adjust to their new reality.

Learn more: Eight Coping Strategies for Caregiver Stress

Transcript

Hi. I'm Dorian Martin and I'm an advocate for Alzheimer's disease. Today we're going to talk about caring for Alzheimer's patients. One of the hardest parts of working with someone with Alzheimer's is realizing that their reality is not your reality. So you really have to stop and understand that what they're feeling, what they're seeing, and what they're understanding is not what may be happening in your world. So oftentimes, you need to find ways to help a person with Alzheimer's move to a topic that you can feel more comfortable in talking about. One of the ways do that is through bridging, and it's a public relations technique that you often see politicians use. You'll watch them be interviewed by a reporter, and then they will take the subject that the reporter is asking about and then turn it to a subject that they want to talk about. So you can do that with Alzheimer's patients as well. You can take their comments about having just recently seen a family member who's been deceased and say, "I think that they're doing fine," and then you can bridge a topic and begin to talk about the weather or a trip that you've been planning on taking, or an activity that you're going to do with them. That way, they will move off of the original topic and go forward from there. One of the things I had to learn when I was working with my mom was how to simplify tasks. When I started going to visit her in the nursing home, I would often use multiple parts in a question. "So, mom, do you want to eat lunch, and then we can go outside and then look at the birds?" That would totally confuse her, so I learned to break it down so that I would say, "Mom, do you want to eat lunch?" Then she would eat lunch. After she was finished with that task I would say, "Mom, do you want to go outside?" Then she would say yes or no. If she said yes, we'd go outside, and then I could focus her on the birds. By simplifying it makes it a lot easier for Alzheimer's patients to really know what their choices are and to make a decision. One thing you need to be aware of when you're working with people with Alzheimer's is to limit choices. For instance, one time I went to the nursing home, and I took a coloring book with me, along with a 64-pack of Crayolas so that we could spend some time together. My mom, who used to love to work with fabric and choose colors was just boggled by the number of choices she had of crayons. Eventually she picked three, all grey, and so I learned to limit the choices I gave her and then that way she could make some choices that would make her happy, but we wouldn't waste time having a lot of options on the table. Perhaps the most important gift you can give to someone who has Alzheimer's is taking good care of yourself. That is exceptionally important because if you can't provide the care that you want to give to them because your own health is at risk, then they're not going to benefit from your support. So there are several things you can do. One, obviously, is exercise. Take time for yourself, whether to go to the gym, to go for a walk around the block, whether to take a yoga class. It doesn't matter. It's just important to get some exercise. Secondly, make sure that you eat healthily. Fix an easy meal that has good food in it as opposed to picking up a meal from the fast food restaurant on your way home. It's important to make time for friends who will help you get your mind off of what you're dealing with in relation to the Alzheimer's. Instead, they'll involve you in activities that will make you feel like you're a person once again who has another meaning in life, besides just being a caregiver. Lastly, it's really important that you find some people who can support you as you go through this caregiving journey, whether through a support group. Which you can find through churches, through the Alzheimer's Association, or their organizations, or through friends who have gone through a similar situation. That's how I see it as an Alzheimer's disease advocate. I would also like to recommend that you reach out to your local area to find more information that will help you. I would also recommend that you go to Google and type in "Alzheimer's support services" to get further information. Thank you.

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