A Senior Assisted Living Facility Can Help Your Parent Suffering From Early Memory Loss
If you have a parent showing signs of early memory loss, you're probably concerned about them living alone. If you're working, your parent probably wouldn't be any safer living with you unless you brought in a caregiver. A better solution for both of you might be a senior assisted living service. Your parent will have supervision so they'll be safe, but they'll still be free to be as independent as possible. Here's how assisted living can help with early memory loss.
Provide Mental Stimulation
When your parent is isolated and alone, it's easy to get depressed and lonely. This could even cause memory loss to seem worse than it is. By keeping your parent engaged with social activities at an assisted living facility, their mind will stay active and they'll receive mental stimulation rather than just sitting and watching TV all day, unless that's what your parent prefers to do.
Increase Social Contacts
A senior assisted living facility is home to people in the same age range. Your parent will be around others with the same interests and life experiences. Even if your parent just wants to watch TV all day, they can do it in a shared room with others instead of being isolated. Plus, being around other people throughout the day helps keep your parent safe since there will be someone around to offer assistance or call for help when needed.
Administer Medication
Taking medication properly is a problem for people with memory loss. Your parent might forget to take a pill or take it too many times because they forgot it was already taken. This can lead to serious consequences such as overdose or important medications being skipped that could affect blood pressure or other important body functions. An assisted living facility can give your parent medications on schedule, and that can help your parent live a longer and healthier life without complications from medication errors.
Control Wandering
Wandering is associated with memory loss, and this could develop as your parent's condition worsens. You want to be prepared for this because your parent could walk out the door at home and not know how to get back home. When your parent is at the stage when wandering becomes a problem, they'll need constant supervision and to be in a facility designed to contain them. This could include alarmed doors that sound when the door is opened by an unauthorized person or wearing a GPS ankle bracelet.
Provide Meals
When your parent has memory loss, they may forget to eat. That, combined with a loss of appetite that is common in seniors could lead to quick and severe weight loss. An assisted living facility can provide healthy meals for your parent to help maintain a normal weight. Plus, it may no longer be safe for your parent to cook if they might forget to turn off the stove. Since memory problems can come and go in the early stages, it's best to be prepared for the times when your parent might be forgetful even if they seem normal most of the time.
Although parent has early memory loss, they might still be able to function well with many of their usual activities. Allowing them as much independence as possible while keeping them safe, will improve their quality of life and contentment. As the memory loss advances, the time might come when your parent has to move from assisted living into a complete care facility, but until that time arrives, your parent can enjoy independence as long as possible with the help of assisted living.
