While the holiday season is joyous for many people, families with loved ones who have Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and other forms of memory loss, may have challenges that need to be understood. For people who have memory loss, celebrations can be over-stimulating, causing withdrawal or agitation.
Eileen Parenti, Executive Director of Renaissance Home Health Care and Adult Day Services, offers these tips:
1. Avoid big Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas parties. Bring loved ones home for more quiet experiences with only a few guests and alert guests in advance what to expect
2. When having a conversation with a person with memory loss, try to focus on them
3. If they are confused and, as an example, think a great grandchild is one of their own children, there’s no need to correct them. Go with the flow… Let them take the lead and follow their conversation
4. The best way to celebrate with someone who lives in a community is to go to them in a place they recognize and know—it decreases their agitation level
About Renaissance Home Health Care and Adult Day Services:
Alex Markowits, President/CEO of Renaissance Home Health Care and Adult Day Services, operates senior living options with full range of individualized services that promote social, physical, and emotional well-being through their home health care and adult day locations serving Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island in NY. Their Signature Touches philosophy reflects the company’s goal of providing compassionate, professional, and skilled services in the comfort of one’s own home or in a clean, nurturing environment. For more information, visit www.renaissancehcs.com.
