By Laura Oldaker, The Gift of Caring 

Effectively communication with other human beings is one life’s biggest challenges, and breakdowns in communication lead to divorce and war. It is a difficult 3-part process that includes a sender, a receiver and a message. The key and most often forgotten part of this process is the feedback, which ensures the receiver understood what the sender was trying to convey... What, you may be asking yourself, does this have to do with caring for my loved one with dementia? Well, actually, everything! 

When a person is living with dementia and cognitive impairment, communication becomes more difficult, and sometimes, verbal communication is rendered impossible; so it’s up to us, their family caregiver, to adjust how we communicate to ensure our message is received and understood. Today’s blog goes over some communication techniques that you can start utilizing right away, that can improve communication,...

By Laura Oldaker, The Gift of Caring

Being a family caregiver to someone who is living with dementia is one of the highest forms of loving your aging loved one, as it can be a very difficult task. In my 25 years of experience working with older adults and their family members, I have witnessed many difficult situations that have led family members to feel like “throwing in the towel” or drive themselves to such stress levels that can affect their own physical, emotional and mental well-being. As a family caregiver myself to someone who lives with dementia, I also understand how unique each situation is, from the nuances of family dynamics, the feelings of guilt, balancing your own personal and professional life, and so much more. 

We constantly do our best effort to provide care to our loved ones, whether you are caring in person or providing care at a distance. Some are fortunate to have time and means to be the primary caregiver or to hire outside help,...

Many families don’t prepare or have a discussion with their elderly loved one until it’s too late or until they find themselves in a crisis. Many families hold off because they don’t want to think about their loved one getting older and needing more care. When the topic is brought up, conversations can quickly turn into stressful heated arguments because emotions run high and everyone feels blindsided or under attack. While starting the conversation can be uncomfortable, you can ease the stress level by starting slowly before a crisis happens.

Conversation Starters

With the holidays recently passed, we may have observed changes in our loved one’s condition that may seem a “red flag” during our visits with them. It is never too early to begin having important conversations with your aging loved one and start the conversation with your family, as difficult as they may seem, it is vital these discussions happen as soon as you begin to notice changes....