For someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, it can be a challenge, just maneuvering through everyday life. But, home life can be made more pleasant and easier with some simple adaptations.
Your aging mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, or other family members may have trouble reasoning, processing, thinking, and remembering as their dementia progresses. To help them stay as independent as possible, everyday tasks can be made easier. This will also help reduce anxiety, stress, and frustration for everyone.
At home, a dementia friendly atmosphere is of the utmost importance. To make overall life easier and safer, here are some simple changes that can be made.
Remember, if it simply becomes too difficult to care for a loved one with memory problems, there are memory care-focused senior living communities that can be of great assistance.
Make Your Loved One’s Home More Dementia Friendly
Try making the following changes to keep your aging loved one safer and to help boost their memory:
- Evoke positive memories by adding keepsakes and photos
- Use easy-to-understand calendars and/or clocks as orienting items
- Post easy-to-read signs and/or leave doors open
- To help identify useful objects, use contrasting colors (avoid complicated patterns whenever possible)
- Make it easier to find frequently used items by removing clutter
Bathrooms That Are More Dementia Friendly
It can be challenging to navigate a bathroom, considering the small space and all the shiny surfaces. Try these suggestions:
- Clearly label faucets with “cold” and “hot”
- Inside the toilet bowl, put a “target aid” (Suggestions include a goldfish cracker, piece of toilet paper, piece of brightly colored cereal, etc.)
- A toilet seat with arms and/or raised toilet seat
- Make the toilet seat in a contrasting color to the rest of the toilet and its surroundings (i.e., yellow, light blue, or red)
Making a Kitchen More Dementia Friendly
In addition to bathrooms, kitchens can present a confusing and challenging environment. Here are some suggestions:
- Make mealtime more pleasant and easier (be flexible concerning food preferences, make food highly visible with colored plates, limit distractions)
- For frequently used items, make some adaptations or change to plastic (this could apply to drinkware, dishware, utensils, etc. which can be hard to grip)
- If there are items you don’t want your loved one to find, hide them (sharp knives are a good example)
- Make it easy to find the items that are most frequently used
Has Your Loved One Been Diagnosed with Dementia? Ask About Memory Care program at Discovery Village At Sarasota Bay
For older adults living with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other memory-related conditions, Discovery Village At Sarasota Bay promotes quality of life, comprehension, and participation. Our unique approach to personalized memory care – the Shine Program – uses science-backed principles.
What’s more, the opportunities for socialization are many at Discovery Village At Sarasota Bay. We have a calendar full of social activities and events. Studies have proven that socializing helps boost memory skills.
We have on-duty staff, 24/7, at Discovery Village At Sarasota Bay. Your loved one will be in a safe, secure environment, with the much-needed supervision and assistance they may otherwise be lacking. No matter how hard you or other caregivers may try, you simply can’t be everywhere, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We can help.
If you have further questions, feel free to contact us at 941.216.1531. If you’d like to schedule a tour, we’d love to show you around. Click here for our convenient online form.
