Caring For And Coping With A Parent Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease: Becoming An Alzheimer’s Whisperer

By Author: Robin Hewitt
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When you are the primary person responsible for elderly care of a parent who has Alzheimer’s disease, eventually you will find them harder to manage as the disease progresses. In turn, your own health may suffer as you face mounting stress, insufficient sleep, and lack of support in your attempt to provide senior home care. There are many resources available, one of which is learning how to handle your parent in each state of the disease.

One of the main points to keep in mind is the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. According to Dr. Verna Benner Carson, PhD, the key to managing a parent in the midst of Alzheimer’s is to be aware of which stage of the disease progression they are in and adapt your senior home care routine accordingly. As author of the presentation “Becoming an Alzheimer’s Whisperer” Dr. Carson outlines a loving method of customizing your senior home care to the age-appropriate stage of the disease. Because sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease digress mentally, you can work with your parent’s primary health care provider to recognize the stage they are in and treat them ...
... accordingly, thus reducing the stress and trauma in both your lives.

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, there are resources such as the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) and the National Institute on Aging, and many books on the subject. You should also consider joining a support group, enlisting other family members in contributing to the care giving, or investing in a home health care service that specializes in elderly care when the job becomes too much for you to handle alone. The key point to keep in mind is that you will be of no help to your parent if your own health deteriorates from the stress of providing elderly care to your Alzheimer’s patient.

Dr. Verna Benner Carson will be the keynote speaker at the Visiting Angels National Conference from June 27 to June 30, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt in Denver, Colorado. She will be lecturing on “Becoming an Alzheimer’s Whisperer through Loving & Gentle Communication.”

Robin Hewitt is a freelance writer working with Visiting Angels to help people learn what their options are when faced with the responsibility of senior home care. For more information and options about elder care, visit our site today!