The Holiday Season: A Time for Extra Caring, Happiness, Sharing, Giving, Having Fun, Catching Up, and More With Friends and Family.

With the holidays upon us, most of us will be spending time with our friends and family in some capacity- in person, live video call, phone call. In some cases, the holidays are the only time some people get to actually see their immediate family, such as an elderly mother or elderly father. While enjoying the holidays with your loved ones, it also a good time to keep an eye out for tell tale signs in terms of overall well being, motor skill functionality, recollection and memory, physical and emotional state, etc.

If an elderly loved one is hosting for the holidays then it also advisable to assess their living environment for consistency in terms of the usual level of cleanliness(not everyone is a neat freak), spoiled food in the fridge, trash has been taken out routinely, the yard is maintained, house is in good general order, etc.

When visiting with your elderly loved one’s, please ask yourself the following questions to evaluate potential changes in their overall health, well-being, and safety. 

• Drastic weight changes?
• Hygiene?
• Mental and emotional state?
• Cognitive and physical abilities?
• Energy level?
• Usual home environment?

Signs of cognitive, physical, and/or motor changes in your elderly loved ones:

• Decline in short term memory?
• Repeating the same questions?
• Forgetting names?
• Not as active, energetic, outgoing and sociable?
• Constantly misplacing items they just put down?
• Loss of weight and overall physical conditioning?
• Poor hygiene, unclean, long finger and toe nails, hair a mess, etc.
• Plus other additional signs…

Signs of changes in the environment include: Please take into consideration if the loved one is usually neat, organized, and independent?

• Is the house a mess? Does it smell bad?
• Spoiled food in the refrigerator?
• Loads of dirty dishes, burnt pots, & pans?
• Pets taken care of?(if any)
• Trash taken out?
• Prescription Accurate? You may have to count the # of pills and count back to the refill date.
• Bills overdue as the loved one simply forgot to pay them?
• Check the inside and outside of their vehicle if they drive. Are there lots of dents, scratches? Is the inside of the car a mess? Maybe consider asking them in a subtle way to take you for a ride to the store in order to assess their driving capabilities?
• Plus any other additional signs that could be considered a potential concern for your loved one…

Once all of this information has been gathered, the next step is communicating your concerns to your close family and the parent(s) or relative(s) that may need to move into an assisted living community, memory care community, or long term senior care community. It is always advisable to approach this situation with the utmost of care as to not upset your loved ones. Wait for the best time and place to have a conversation with your loved one(s) about your family’s concerns and different options that would be acceptable by your loved ones.

The first goal is to approach the situation in a non-threatening way, while brainstorming options together, in order to get a successful outcome across the board for your loved one. Ultimately, they have to make this decision for themselves in order to have a healthy transition to a senior assisted living community..

Our assisted living and memory care placement consultants specialize in these types of situations and can most certainly help you and your family. If you are in need of ideas and suggestions on techniques and ways to work on a plan together, to handle possible resistance or to connect you with resources, Give Assisted Living Advisers a call today for more information- 1-347-826-1689

Happy Holidays!

About Assisted Living Advisers Founder, Eric Leopold

Eric Leopold, the owner and founder of Assisted Living Advisers is recognized as a compassionate and practical advocate who works tirelessly on behalf of his clients to efficiently navigate senior living options in the tri-state area. Having personally worked with hundreds of families during the past 8 years, he understands the emotional and practical decisions that each family struggles with when deciding on assisted living for a loved one.