Maintaining Independence with Alzheimer’s Disease

While Alzheimer’s disease is life changing, it doesn’t have to be life ending. People with Alzheimer’s disease can and should continue to pursue their dreams and live a meaningful life. If you are caring for someone who is living with Alzheimer’s disease, often the best thing you can do for them is to help them maintain as much independence as possible. Here are a few strategies that can help:

Identify Problems Areas: The best place to start is to try to identify key areas of concern and to develop solutions to address those problems. Are they finding it difficult to prepare meals or to remember to eat? Are they forgetting to take medication, bathe, or change their clothes? Are they concerned that they won’t care for their pet properly? A combination of support and reminder systems can help address these challenges.

Develop a Support System: We all need support sometimes, and that support is particularly important to someone living with Alzheimer’s disease. If they are living alone or will be spending a lot of time on their own, it is important that they have a strong support system in place. This can mean having family and friends regularly drop by to check in on them, or even letting the security guard in their apartment building or the shopkeeper next door know about the situation so that they can be an extra set of eyes and ears.

Safety-Proof Their Home: An important part of being independent is making sure that their home is safe. This means removing tripping hazards, storing medication and household chemicals safely, keeping walkways well lit, and safe guarding household appliances.

Help Them Prioritize: The reality is that a person living with Alzheimer’s disease may not be able to live the same life as they did before their diagnosis. However, there are still many things that are possible for them. Help them identify the tasks that need to be done on a regular basis and try to determine what they can do by themselves and where they need assistance.

Help Them Find Sources of Strength: You know what they are; they are the things that make your life worth living. Whether it is your children, your cat, tending to your garden, painting a picture, swimming in a pool, or being in nature, it is what gets your blood flowing and gives you strength to move forward. If you can help the person you are caring for find these sources of strength and integrate them into their lives, it will make their days a lot more fulfilling.